And So, A Chapter Ends...

Summer is over. 

Tomorrow is the beginning of a new school year.

This time of year has never affected me before. but this year... TOMORROW (!!!), Isabel will embark on the next chapter of her life as a kindergartener.

She has grown so much

She is starting to go on monkey bars by herself now.  

 

She is a bit of a monkey herself too

She can do a cartwheel! We practiced for a whole week in the evenings.

Yes.

We.

 

And she is still a pretty dismal singer

 

Her reaction after watching herself on the video: "I didn't sing like that! That wasn't me!!"

Uh-huh...

I am sad that she will be leaving all the kids that she has grown up with since she was 2 months old. 

Her best friend at school is feeling quite sad too...

And the boy Isabel intends to marry gave her a stuffed puppy to remember him by

(sweetest thing, EVER. My heart melts. I think I am more affected by this gesture than she is)

We went to each of the rooms at her daycare today to give out little tokens of appreciation to the teachers and caretakers who have looked after her and nurtured her and kissed away her boo-boos when I was unable to because I had to work.

These people have been with her almost as long as I have, and I don't know how they do this, year after year of saying goodbye to kids who will most definitely not remember them or remember all that they did for them.



Heart-wrenching.

It has been 4 and a half years of joy and worry, contentment and  frustration, guilt of feeling like I can never do enough and pride that she has turned out the way she did (Though there are more that some parts of her personality that just makes me want to throw up my hands and give up)

And the journey has barely even started. 

Momma loves you, my not-so-baby girl.