To the mama of a preschool graduate.

To the mama who started the school year with tears streaming down her face.

To the mama who considered homeschooling because she dreaded the start of formal education.

I am you.

I had all the excuses for delaying the start of preschool.

We overeducate.

Two days a week feels like too much commitment.

Preschool is unnecessary.

In denial, I enrolled him.

I told myself I had every opportunity to reverse course as time progressed. I told myself he would regularly skip class to be at home. I told myself I could withdraw him mid-year.

I didn’t.

Instead, I watched our sweet boy excitedly walk into school donning his new ninja turtle shirt and blue superhero backpack, holding Daddy’s hand.

He intends to be a dinosaur when he grows up.

I still get a lump in my throat when I realize there’s no turning back—that once our babies start the formal education process, they never really stop.

I swallow the lump down.

We wouldn’t want the alternative. We wouldn’t want our children to remain stagnate or undeveloped or absent. We wouldn’t want it.

The passing of time still hurts.

I thought about him all morning, even while I chased his younger brother. I wondered if he missed me like I missed him.

I hurried back to school, where he filled my ears with the fun he had.

As we plopped down at the kitchen table to eat our lunch, he volunteered to pray.

Dear Jesus, thank you that I got to go to preschool to play with my friends. And thank you that I got to come home to Mommy.

I swallowed another lump down.

The school year is coming to a close as I think about how much my son and I have grown.

We were more ready for this than we thought.

To the mama of a preschool graduate, you were more ready for this than you thought.

And you’ll be ready for the next step, too.

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