Tuesday, September 8, 2009

You Know They're Growing Up When...

You know they're growing up when they no longer want you to come to the bus stop with them on the first day of school. Little Mouse, who is in her second year of middle school, said it was all right if I waited down the block, but the Barrister, who is a freshman in high school this year, directed me to wait on the back porch. "You can see the bus through the trees, Mom," he told me patiently.

Yes, but...

I still remember his first day of school, and how tightly he squeezed my hand while we waited for the kindergarten bus. I still remember the "kissing hand" sticker he wore to school--I was to kiss the sticker before school, and then all through his first day of school, he could press the sticker to his cheek and get a kiss from Mom whenever he felt the need. I stuck the sticker in my journal after his first day. It's still there.

I know he's fourteen now. I know that he's only a hair shorter than I am. I know that his feet are already way bigger than mine, and that he will be a man in only a few short years. But I really wish he had a kissing hand sticker to take with him today.

Or maybe I wish that he still wanted one.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Awww. I think their independence is evidence that you've done a really good job with them.

Jazz said...

Thanks, Superla!
That's what I keep telling myself...it doesn't always work, though. They're growing up so fast!

Anonymous said...

Wow. They actually let you stand there with them that long? I believe that mine stopped allowing it in first grade. I would watch from the front porch, or the living room if it was too cold to stand out on the porch in my jammies. Actually, beyond kindergarten, no other parents waited on the bus stop, either.

Odd, when you consider we lived in the inner city in a neighborhood rife with drive-by shootings, burglaries, and even a successful abduction attempt (the child eventually was able to escape her would-be kidnapper)....

How 'bout this "You Know They're Growing Up When..." quote: Darling Daughter said to me the other day (while we were discussing her younger cousin who is going to be a mother for the second time before age 21) "I'm too young and immature to have kids". This, from my almost 21-year-old! Maybe there's hope after all?

Jazz said...

Although I am no longer allowed to wait at the bus stop on the first day, I must note that they are quite happy to see me and the nice, warm, dry car if it's pouring with rain or -30 and snowing!

As long as I park a little bit down the block.

And wear a bag over my head.

Anonymous said...

Is it that bag you used to not be able to find your way out of? Or, to use much more proper grammar: is it the bag out of which you used to not be able to find your way? ;-)

OOH! Totally OT here, but my word verification word is "ractred". Makes me think of "The Shining", and "redrum".

Herrad said...

Hi,
Happy Christmas.
Love,
Herrad

Beth said...

Oh my heart ACHED when I read this post. I am going through the same feelings with my 17, 14, and 13 year-old sons. The time with them when they were young went SO FAST! Thank you for your well-written post.