His pre-school days are winding down, and there comes with that a huge excitement for the future - both for him and me. There's anticipation about attending "Mommy's school" in the fall with the "big kids." There's curiosity about what kinds of things will be learned. There's even joy at the thought of playing on the "big" playground.
And there's especially the bittersweet acceptance of another chapter ended in his young life.
When I look back on the last five years, I realize with a smile and a tear that the better part of four of those years have been spent at Kids World. I remember how tough that first week back at work was - how I had to leave my baby in an unfamiliar setting and trust that those who were looking after him were doing just that. I remember how difficult it was to walk away while he was crying for me and how happy we both were at our afternoon reunions. I remember the day that he didn't cry when I left, when I knew that he was going to be okay and so was I. I remember watching him move up to each "big boy" classroom, the potty training, the scribbles that made up his artwork, the day he learned what letters were in his name, the day he learned to write his name. I remember how the other kids in the classroom slowly trickled in to our dinnertime conversations - how Connor did this or VJ said that, or how Brayden got in trouble (but never Wesley), or how Keats and Addison were the, ahem, "girlfriends" of the day.
And now he has graduated from all of that. In a couple of weeks, Kids World will no longer be a permanent fixture in our lives. The children whom I have watched grow up alongside Wesley will go their separate ways at summer's end, and while I am excited for all of them, I know that I will miss them. It has been a blessing to witness the blossoming of these little one-year-old toddlers into chatty, opinionated, sometimes bossy, always caring little persons. There's a warm, fuzzy feeling that comes with being addressed as "Hey, Wesley's Mom" by these children whose names and faces I know so well. I will miss that in the coming years.
Still, kindergarten will present a new challenge, one of fun and excitement and curiosity. The tide of their lives continues to flow, and even though many of them are moving down different tributaries, they will all eventually dump out into the great wide ocean of life and perhaps run into each other again.
I am so proud of what Wesley has accomplished, and I thank Kids World and all their teachers for four wonderful years.
