My Big Girl

A milestone was reached in the Blake family this morning, and even though in the grand scheme of things it may not be that significant it hit me like a ton of bricks. So much that I feel the need to forever document its occurance via this blog. The past two days Haley has been super grumpy upon arrival at her school, which is totally unlike her. Until this morning I had been unsuccessful at determining the cause of this grumpiness. She had gotten to bed late the past couple nights so naturally I assumed she was just tired. But this morning she told her dad a different story. Haley said she was upset when she got to school because Mommy didn't drop her off. From the first day of school back in August I have walked Haley to her classroom, watched her put away her coat and schoolbag and sit down in her chair to color. I have exchanged hellos with other parents and her teacher and been able to observe her work hanging in the classroom and the hallway. But today for the first time, I drove her up to the red double doors out front, watched her climb out of the car with help from one of the teachers, told her I was proud of her, and drove to work. I must admit I did get a little teary as I tried to tell myself all of the positive things associated with this change. First of all I'd be lying if I said it didn't make the morning routine easier for me. Oh yeah, and on those mornings when its flooding outside this will make so much more sense. Wait a minute, who am I kidding? The bottom line is my little girl is slowly turning into a big girl and the truth is it makes me sad. I guess I better get ready for more days like these. Because ready or not here they come.