Another One Slipped By

Somewhere between the book reports and spelling tests, 'midst the fine arts concert and teacher appreciation day, another school year has slipped by.

I'm not sure where it went.  Wasn't it just a few weeks ago that they traipsed off to school in tight new tennis shoes wearing book bags filled with supplies? 

Now they've come home with empty pencil boxes, the last few pages of a math workbook and a pink rectangular eraser that has seen better days.  These children are also taller, more confident and hopefully a little smarter.

It's been nine months of teachers investing in our daughters; nine months of playing with friends - new and old - at recess; nine months of waiting in car line, doing homework, packing lunches.

We're all happy this morning as we head to school for the awards ceremony and final farewells to teachers and friends. 

Happy - yet, down deep inside me is what resembles a heavy sigh.  I know time flies....but sometimes I wish it would hover for just a few moments, letting me relish its passing, drinking in the dear faces I know so well, before they mature even more.

But time calls to me, pulling me forward.  In just a few hours, I'll be the mom of a 5th grader and a 3rd grader.  And today I will tell them how well they did this year, how proud I am of them, and let that heavy sigh dissolve into a joy that matches theirs.