My son just finished kindergarten. He’s been reminding me for the last 2 months that he’s almost a first grader. Yes. I know. Now please stop reminding me how quickly you’re growing up. This parenting thing is still so surreal. I wanted to be a mom for a long time. I hoped and prayed that it would happen. But I knew it wasn’t a guarantee. We went through the piles of paperwork, background checks and interviews in hopes that it would lead to a family.
While we were waiting to adopt, I would dream about what our family would be like. I’d picture myself with a baby just soaking in the newborn snuggles. I wondered what it would be like to have older kids. I would think about the school years and came up with fun destinations for future family vacations. I just needed that glimmer of hope.
Very early in our adoption process a brand new elementary school opened up. We could see it from our backyard. How convenient would that be! I had dreams of walking my kids to school there. In our adoption profile, I talked about that school. I envisioned walking my child to school on the first day of kindergarten. It seemed like something that would happen way in the future; if only we would be so lucky.
This year, my oldest went to that school. I had a kindergartner. It was a simple dream that came true. I walked my kindergartner to school and pushed his sisters in the double stroller. It was such an ordinary task that made me so happy. I watched my son walk into that school every day. He had an amazing teacher, made wonderful friends and learned more than I thought possible. That glimmer of hope I held onto years ago became my reality. But I must have blinked because now I have a first grader!!