Sad Fact of Life

My little boy is growing up. I know, he hasn't been "little" for quite a while now but this week it seemed to hit me especially hard. Could it be the fact that he really is almost as tall as me? or that I can actually wear his shoes now (and I don't have small feet!)? The fact that he hasn't wanted me to come eat lunch with him for 2 years now? or his blossoming interest in girls (one in particular)?

Wasn't it just yesterday that we were finger painting, playing with play-doh and going to the park together? You know, when he used to want to hold my hand? I remember all those many days (it was practically the whole year!) I dropped him off at Preschool and he would cry and cry and cry. I thought he'd never be able to make it a day at school without me and look at him now!

Now that Kyler is in 4th grade he has special privileges at school. He's one of the "big kids." He can choose to go to the gym or the lunchroom in the morning before school starts (all the younger kids have to go to the lunchroom), the PE teacher asks him to help her set up her "stuff" for the younger classes, and yesterday he went to school choir practice for the first time. It was at 7:00 in the morning so I had to wait all day to hear about it. He loved it! He was so excited about what they were going to sing, a potential field trip to sing at the mall, and especially about all of his friends that came to choir practice as well.

He wants to ride his bike or walk to school by himself but I won't let him. I'm just not ready to do it. I already let him go to the creek by himself (with a friend--but without me) and that worries me enough. On our trip last weekend he was our "do boy"....he went to the front desk when we needed more towels or a plunger (don't ask!).....he wanted to go everywhere by himself ("I'll go do it!"). Although it is nice to have a child old enough to do those things (and still excited enough to actually want to do them), it made me a little bit sad. I'm just not ready for him to grow up!