Pooping in Peace: It IS So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday

So this happened today...

But you probably already know that because you heard that weird sobbing noise coming from the Burbank area. Actually, I was doing okay for while. They walked in to Pomp and Circumstance, and I was fine. They sang their little preschool songs, I smiled. Then, THEN! The school decided to so something special. A surprise for everyone. They showed pictures of three little preschool kids who had already graduated from Westminster. Just last week, they graduated from the high school down the street. That's when I lost it. Those three teenagers had been part of the awesome Glee Club at the high school and proceeded to sing a song for us. I sobbed almost uncontrollably. My babies are really not babies anymore. I mean they are compared to those now ex-high school students, but not compared to where we were five years ago, when we first walked into this preschool.

I will always be grateful for this fantastic place that I left my girls for three hours a couple days a week to learn, play and make friends in the first years of their life. I will remember how Sonya cried every time I dropped her off for the first two months and how great her teachers were to get her through. I will remember Lana not shedding one tear when I dropped her off, but hearing she was a little sad in the middle of the day at the beginning and Georgia, who never cried once. She was so used to going when it was her turn, she couldn't wait. I remember feeling relieved when Sonya first went, so I only had two to focus on, if even for a few hours. Then I remember how sad I was at the beginning of this school year when I dropped Georgia off and was left alone three days a week for three hours. I cried a bit that first week. Then I realized how much faster grocery shopping could get done, and I managed.

I will always cherish the pictures that were made for Andy and me at school along with our Mother's Day and Father's Day gifts and cards. I will always think about the ice cream social at the beginning of the year and the pot luck at the end. Westminster Preschool has been such a huge part of our life for so long that it's going to be so hard for us, okay mostly me, to let go. Not just because of the school, but the community around it, the friends we have all made and because it's the place where my babies grew into kids. As I sat there today watching those teenagers sing, all I could think of was, "Mine are going to be that age in the blink of an eye. How the hell do I slow this down?" I guess I will just have to make sure I have a lot of pictures so I can always look back and remember when they were this little.

Congratulations GG! We are so proud of you!