I was too busy to cry that first day of school. It was my first day back to school as well--as a teacher. I stayed home with Aron and Sara until they were old enough to attend school. Aron entered kindergarten at St. Martin's Lutheran School and Sara attended preschool at First Baptist Church, the same school in which I was teaching a combined 1st and 2nd grades.
That morning there were ties to clip on, backpacks to fill, and lesson plans to review. I didn't cry that day; but it all caught up with me today, twenty years later when I came across this photograph.
Aron stopped over yesterday with his new wife to wish a Happy Mother's Day because they are both working today. When I listen to him talk about his job or tease his wife, I still cannot help but think of the little boy who delighted in Masters of the Universe and big wheels.
This morning I had brunch with Sara as I often do on Sundays and she told me about the house that she and her boyfriend have a contract on and will own at the end of this month. And as I listen to my grownup daughter, I still see her "feeding" Cabbage Patch doll in her Little Tykes kitchen.
I could not have known for certain when I hurriedly shot this photo of their bright little faces, that their young adult lives would have come so quickly or that we would all be so fortunate to be blessed as much as we have been (and for that I am eternally grateful). And yet, this is one of those moments when I wish I could go back, if even for a single evening, to have them crawl upon my lap, read them a story and tuck them safely into their beds with a kiss.
I wonder if my mom is thinking the same thing............
