I couldn’t write this the night before because I was still in denial! But today has come and gone and well let’s just say I’m glad it’s over with. For those of you mama’s who sent their child off for their senior year emotions are all over the place! My oldest child started her senior year today! Today I took her last first day of school photo. I’m sure next year she will send me one on her first day of classes, but I won’t be the one taking it! All summer long we commented about out last blah, blah. We have a night before school starts/end of summer dinner tradition where the kids get to pick where we eat. My younger two made the comment it was my oldest last one with us.
I’ve read blog post after blog post about parents of seniors, ones directed to my senior herself. I have a very large group of friends and we are all going through this together! We have cried together, laughed together, supported each other and this year we will be closer then ever before. Many of us have been together since our kids were in preschool together, and yes the kids are still best of friends!
I have such mixed emotions when it comes to this year with my daughter. I am an emotional parent to begin with, my kids always have tissues because I cry at the drop of a dime. And I’ve been told by friends who have gone through this before that it is an emotional year, everything is the last. I have realized that yes, it is the last time she will go to homecoming, last time she buys a yearbook, last time for, well everything! But I’m trying really hard to not focus on all of that, I want to focus on all the time we still have together. And I want to look forward to how exciting life is for her. I want it to be about her, and not me and my emotions.
My daughter is so excited about this year! She spends every moment she can hanging out with her friends, she is involved in so many sports and clubs at school, soaking in everything she can. She is planning her last homecoming to make it the best, she is even excited about those college applications and scholarships. She’s excited for her 18th birthday, for her last spring break with us, looking forward to being able to skip (she’s a nerd and goodie goodie so this is a big deal) and let’s not forget prom, graduation party and graduation itself. She couldn’t be more over the moon. She’s already looking for dorm room stuff and trying to plan a big family beach vacation before she heads off to college. So instead of me making it all about me and my emotions and how upset I am that yes it is the last time I will sign 500 million papers the first week of school for her, I am excited that next year I will have at least 500 million less (OK bad example because what parent wouldn’t be excited about one less set of parent signature forms!).
“Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children.” – Charles R. Swindoll
We as parents bring these adorable babies home from the hospital and think about the next 18 years. We can’t wait until they sit, crawl and walk and then when they talk, play and go to school. We listen to parents of older kids telling us to enjoy every minute of the day, that it goes by so fast. Well it does! It’s not just something people say. 18 years may seem like a long time but it’s not. I can remember the day I brought my daughter home, I can remember the first time I took her on vacation. It seems like it was yesterday. I loved every minute of our time together and I worked hard to make sure that it was quality time. I shared moments with her that I will cherish for life, took her on vacations that she will remember forever. I made the moments count, and I will do the same this year. I will enjoy watching her get ready for that last homecoming dance and savor the moments. I may cry when she leaves and doesn’t see me, but I will be excited with her, spending every moment I can with her so I can hold on to those memories.
“You will never have this day with your children again. Today is a gift. Breath and notice. Study their little faces and feet. Relish the charms of the present. Enjoy today mama, it will be gone before you know it.” – Jen Hatmaker
I have worked hard to raise a polite, respectful, hardworking, loving child. I put in hours of parenting and disciplining, praying and scripture reading with her, and I know all my hard work has paid off. So while many are emotional about their growing child, I’m excited to see where this hard work has taken my child. I can’t wait to see her in the next chapter of her life next year in college; and many years beyond. I can’t wait to be able to be my daughter’s friend all the time! Hearing her stories of life, her plans for her future and all the fun she has in life (hopefully I am included in some).
Now don’t get me wrong, I will be super emotional all year long, especially graduation day! But I will make sure my daughter knows how excited I am for her. I want her to know that senior year is fun and she should enjoy every moment, savor the time she has with these friends in this stage in life. I want her to be able to look back on high school and be happy with the memories she made, the time she had. And I will look back on those times and be happy I was part of it. I got to help make her the woman she is, I got to watch her enjoy every moment of her senior year. I will make the time I have with her this year quality time so I can look back on our time and have no regrets of we should of…
Parents join me! We will cry together at our dinners out, after we send them off to prom, and next year on the first day of school when we only have 2 instead of 3 heading off. But let’s celebrate our young adults! Let’s join them in their excitement of their senior year. Let’s look to every last as a milestone and not an end of time. Let’s enjoy this year with them, making memories we get to look back on for so many years to come! Let’s look forward to wrapping up this amazing chapter in their lives with a beautiful bow and opening the next chapter with excitement. So hug your big kids, tell them you are so excited for them, can’t wait for all the fun this year brings and then go cry alone! Enjoy your time with them, and cherish the memories! Here’s to all those seniors! Class of 2019!!
