By Leslie Lindsay

It is with mixed pride and sadness that I celebrate today.  You see, my darling precocious–and youngest daughter is completing her pre-K education.  It all culminates this afternoon with a popsicle social complete with friends and teachers who have played an important role in her life for the last 3 years.  (Jeez…that’s most of her life!)

Now, you would think that I would be so over it, but alas I am not.  I have been through the preschool “graduation” once with my 7-year old.  Been there, done that, right?  Well, I don’t think a mother ever tires of seeing her children grow and develop.  I know I will continue to observe such milestones, yet this is still hard.

Others have told me, “Oh, it’s just because she is your youngest that you are feeling this way.”  Well, yes and no…true, she is my youngest and in many ways, her moving out of preschool is an end of an era, but it really has very little to do with the fact that she is my youngest.  It has to do with her. 

You see, Kelly is a sweet, thoughtful, bright, and very mild-mannered child.  She is a joy to be around.  Sometimes, I wonder who is mothering whom?!  (Of course, she is never in a role that would sacrifice her childhood).  But I am going to miss her when she goes on to kindergarten.  I am going to miss the handprint art and the stick figure drawings with the too-big heads and the wobbly handwriting.    I am going to sort of-kind of miss the tiny little voice that says, “Why, momma?”  and I am going to miss her interrupting me as I work away on my laptop, “Momma, I just wanted to come and tell you I love you.”

Yet, on the otherhand, I will have more time.  Time to write.  Time to read.  Time to hang out with my hound.  Time to reclaim my goals, my activities.  My dreams.  Not that raising two beautiful daughters was not a part of my dreams, it was…but I know there is more to life than boogars and toilet bowl scrubbing.

And that’s what is in my brain today, Thurday May 24th 2012.