Zach started Kindergarten on August 29th and completed his first full week today.  He LOVES it.  I, on the other hand, am adjusting a bit more slowly.  He had a buddy in his class that also attended preschool with him, and he is making all kinds of new friends as well.  Sometimes I feel as though I am having phantom pains from a missing limb when I realize that he is not in the van with Alex and Sam and me.  The first day, I cried as soon as I got back in the car and Alex asked why.  I told him that I was just gonna miss Zach.  He said, “Well, Mom, we are picking him up later, right?”  Yes, of course, we were….but I was missing that chubby, pasty, little baby boy that had Michelin rolls on his thighs and curly blonde hair.  The one that had Chris and I holding him out at arms length, bewildered and wondering, “Is this what they do?”.  Now, with Sam, the third and last wee man to grace us with his piercing gaze and Michelin thighs, we are still in awe, but far more confident that, “Yes, this is what they do”….and while we may kid ourselves that we have power to change and mold the course of these little flash floods that we call children….we really don’t.  Frankly, you can only hope that the damage can be kept to a minimum; that the land which is flooded by these small wonders will be somehow changed for the better; and that we as parents can watch them flow and turn and choose their paths.  I saw a card the other day that said a lot.   It said “Nobody tells you that Babies are thieves…stealing your heart and taking your breath away”. Well, I have three such thieves in my little world, and believe me, my heart has been stolen and I am beyond breathless.

Love to all,

tiff