Growing up

I took my daughter to school today which is a rare thing as I am frequently out of town with my hideous choice of a career. In the past she has always instructed me on the morning routine. How how many vitamins to give, where the breakfast is served, when the teeth get brushed etc.

Today was no different as we arrived at school early enough that there were no other children there. She asked me to sit in a rocking chair with her. The chair belongs to the teacher and I am sure no children are allowed to jump on-board during the regular day. This is apparently something she does "everyday" with her mother, so I obliged her. We sat in that chair for only a couple of minutes, but it was important to her as it was a normal part of her day.
She took the opportunity as we sat and gently rocked to point out her art work she and the students had covered the walls with, each piece with a classmates name written somewhere prominently. The lion with a big orange head (and pink legs), the elephant she had drawn jewelry on, a two dimensional woven basket. She was very proud to show her work to her Dad who doesn't get to see these pieces in the "production phase" very often.

As she explained other aspects of her classroom I began to reflect on the past and how little she was when she first attended daycare while we lived in North Carolina. The huge amounts of anxiety her mother and I felt when leaving her to someone else for all of her needs and the feeling of worry that she wouldn't adjust well.
Adjust is what she did well actually and after four years of "daycare" in a learning environment she will be attending a tiny graduation ceremony tonight. Excited is the adjective and she is determined to look her best. The dress is picked out, new shoes, even toenail polish-pink of course! She is nearing a new phase in her life as she starts in an actual school next week. I will be out of town tomorrow and probably won't see the inside of Amelia's current daily routine again.
This was "the time" I thought to myself. stop yourself. soak this in. remember this. pull her a little closer- this moment will never come back.
All these moments seem to be going past us too quickly.