Tuesday, August 28, 2012

The Tide Turns

Up until this point in our parenting career, I felt the children's presence continually (my husband could turn it off sometimes) or we arranged childcare occasionally.  It was not always pleasant to have responsibility for all their needs, you know? 

But I am suddenly nostalgic, because today my universe shifted.  Now, for two days a week, both our children will be away for 6 hours at school. 


Now the children are receding away from us, it seems, out into the bigger ocean where we can't always see them or hear what they say or catch them before they hurt themselves.


It's very weird.  I didn't cry, but I feel strange and clingy.

My husband and I ate two meals alone today:  lunch while the children were at school, and then dinner out to celebrate our anniversary.  A milestone day in more than one way.

 
More specifically, Ben adores preschool and riding the bus.  Genevieve is not enthusiastic, but so far there are no tears. 

9 comments:

Jennifer Jo said...

That first picture: love.

Sarah Barry said...

Wow, that IS a change. Hope it frees you to enjoy them all the more when your with them.

jodi said...

I know my time is limited and by next year, I think the tides will change for us too...There are some days when I'm so ready for them to be out of my hair for a few hours, but mostly I dread it.

Carpet Cleaning in East Side Portland said...

Thanks for sharing a piece of your life. Those are touching photos indeed.

Tracy said...

And, oh! do the years ever fly from this time forward. My oldest started his senior year of college on Monday, while my youngest started her freshman year of high school.

Happy Anniversary!

Christian - Modobject@Home said...

Transition is hard for G, isn't it? No doubt because you have created such a warm and loving and safe home for her... I would not want to leave either!

Way to go Ben! My boys envy your busy riding adventures.

I'm feeling clingy too, Margo.

Happy Anniversary! A milestone indeed!

LiEr said...

Sniff. That will be me next year. Thankfully our school district still has half-day Kindy, so I have the girls at home for lunch with me for one more year each, before they enter 1st grade. I KNOW I'm going to cry. I already warned a friend that she's going to get a call from me when that happens. Why can't kids grow up without growing away?

Polly said...

I love the photos!!! They are so sweet together.

"Clingy" is a good word for how I feel too (even though my children aren't out of the house 2 days a week). I feel sort of clingy to these days of having little ones....even though I actually prefer older children to younger ones. It's just the passing of time, I guess.

Love the photos.

BLD in MT said...

I don't know how I missed this post before, but none the less. Oh your children are so sweet! The photos are delightful. I hope Ben is still as enthusiastic and there are still no tears from either Geneiveve or you! I don't have any myself, but watching my niece and nephew grow (and start school this year) it is unbelievable that it happened so quickly. I'm sure its even more so for mom and dad!