Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Graduation Countdown

365 days and counting until Abby graduates from high school.

We went to Legacy's graduation ceremony over the weekend. What struck me as we watched the baby-pictures-morphing-into-young-adult-pictures, and as we listened to the parents' exhortations and the graduates appreciation...was that next year that will be US. It will be slides of Baby Abby on screen - shots of her sweet childhood, sibling times, lisp-singing...and then the metamorphosis to this graceful, musical and radiant teen....

It will be Jon and I who have to nutshell her into 150 words. And then somehow manage to articulate through tears. And then stand there as she delivers 100 words back to us....

And then she'll leave us.

I think homeschooling might mean even more to me this time next year than it ever did. I'm wondering if there really is a saturation point in parenting - do you ever get tired of them? Is there ever a moment when you say - "OK! DONE! They know all they possibly could know and so WHOOSH! off they go." I think this time next year I will be glad to say - "I chose to use each moment to be with them - watch them grow - read with them - share adventures and laughter with them....not waste the days with them gone....because too soon they leave, regardless."

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Well as the grown daughter of a homeschooling mom I can say, no you don't ever get to the point where you say "OK done!" my mom to this day, even after two years of us being out of the house will still remind us of all the things we need to take care of when we talk. Once a mom, always a mom... but if it ever seems like your grown children get annoyed by it, rest assured deep down it's incredibly comforting to know that once a kid, always a kid and that mom will always be there to go back to....