Back To School

(Gigi, grade 5 and excited for day one. Connor, grade 10 and showing off his badly injured index finger (from helping me pick rocks). Jack, grade 7 and looking goofy because the only way I can make him smile for a picture is to say something inappropriate. In the picture below, they are all looking to the left so that Jack could show off his new hairdo.)

I have a kid in grade 10. Honestly. How did that happen? I certainly don't feel old enough to have an almost-15-year-old. In fact, wasn't I in high school, like, 15 minutes ago??

When all three of my lovely brats were preschoolers, little old ladies would come up to me in the grocery store and say "Oh, enjoy them, dear.... it goes so fast!!!" Now, you have to understand, a trip to the grocery store with my three wee bairns was a very serious undertaking that required more preparation and patience than anything else I've ever done. Nevermind the car seats and diaper bags. Once we were there, I would put Connor in the grocery cart seat, Jack in a back pack and Bridget in a snuggly. Then, I would try to get groceries while being stopped and subjected to the unsolicited advice of these little old ladies. Subsequently, I would use every ounce of my self control to not run over the old ladies with my cart. In my opinion, at that time, this was not going fast, oh no, not at all.

Here's what I have to say to you today. The little old ladies were right. I really, really hate admitting it, but they were. At the time, I thought they were suffering from memory loss at the very least, but more likely, advanced stage Alzheimer's. How could they forget how HARD this was?? Now, I have literally had to bite my bottom lip to stop myself from saying to young mothers in the grocery store.... "Oh, enjoy it! It really, really does go so fast."

And it does.