We had Kindergarten Roundup last week. As Easton ran ahead of me, skipping toward the school, I was struck by how grown-up he looks now. All angles. No more chubby cheeks and potbelly. My baby is 5 now.
But then in the multi-purpose room where we’ll be spending a lot of time in the elementary school years, as he lined up to go to a classroom and leave me behind (just for an hour), he wanted me to hold his hand and walk him up front to the line of other kids. I saw his lip quiver as he stood by himself and I flashed back to those baby days again. The clingy, tearful daycare drop-offs that seemed like they’d never end.
But my baby is 5 now. He smiled bravely when we made eye contact and waved a little before going off with his future classmates. I held it together too. If he can be brave, so can I. But when he bounded back to me one hour later, smiling ear to ear and proudly thrusting a construction paper ladybug into my hands, my fragile mama heart exhaled the breath I didn’t realized I’ve been holding. My baby is 5 but he’s still my baby. And he’s going to be just fine.
And maybe most importantly, so am I.
Still, the days left before I have a “school-ager” are finite. There are only 16 Saturdays until I’m officially the mom of a kindergartener. Sixteen summer weekends to enjoy the routines we’ve created in our pre-elementary school life, before it’s time to negotiate new routines.
Enter the summer bucket list. The next 16 weekends are going to be about celebrating carefree childhood. Letting go of our school anxieties (his and mine, because he is very much my child) to focus on a summer of exploration and growth. Letting my kids be kids in all their loud, messy, muddy glory.
Because 5 years ago, when I stared breathlessly at that little scrunched-up newborn face for the first time, I couldn’t even conceptualize all that would change in such a short time. I couldn’t picture what being the mom of a kindergartener looks like.
Now I’ve had a preview and I think I’m OK with it. But that doesn’t mean I want the summer to fly by in a haze of iPad and TV. So I’m going to make the most of the summer ahead of us.
Follow along with my #NeverDoneWithFun Summer Bucket List Bingo printable and cross off your own adventures as you complete them. Add in a bonus event each time you get BINGO! If you complete the whole card before summer’s end … buy yourself a bottle of champagne because you’ve earned it, Mama!
Download Summer Bucket List Bingo printable
Details of the bucket list items to be published next, so stay tuned for more summer fun.
