The Mom of a Kindergartener

My sweet Mallory, my first born child, had her first day of Kindergarten last week. There were tears shed, by me, not her.

She happily walked down the street with her best friend, also in Kindergarten but in a different class.

She waited in line smiling and talking with her daddy and sister.

She walked away waving goodbye. And that was that. She was gone and I truly felt that this was the real first step in letting go.

Now here we are a week into sending her off and she absolutely loves it and I can say with most certainty that I love being the mom of a Kindergartener!

 I love meeting the other parents and knowing that we are all in this together. We will likely watch all our children grow up together as they continue their school years.

I love the newness and the excitement and knowing that this is the start of something wonderful for her.

I love knowing that this is just the beginning and we still have so many years ahead of us living together as a family.  I may not be young *Ahem* but our family is young.

 I really am so excited for her. She's a lot like me in that she loves school. I remember being in kindergarten and I remember how excited I was to go to school.

There's something about knowing that your child will likely remember these moments that takes this parenting thing to a whole other level.

She will remember.

I will remember.

Together we will both remember these days and it really just doesn't get better than that!

So here's to all the mamas sending their children off to Kindergarten for the first time! We really are all in this together! 

Are you the mom of a kindergartener? I'd love to see your pictures or perhaps you've shared your thoughts on you blog. Please link in comments below. 

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Letters to myself

I've always loved journaling, writing, keeping a diary. In fact, I've kept a diary from the time I was in third grade. I recently ran across this post from the very lovely Ashley from little miss momma.

It struck a chord.

I remembered when I wrote something similar an entire decade earlier.  A letter to myself saying goodbye to my 20's. It inspired me to go through the boxes of old journal entries and try to find that letter.

I spent the next hour sifting through those old journals. There they were, remnants of my past. I hadn't read them in a very long time and it brought up so many emotions as I was reminded of my former self. Who I was before I was a wife and mom. When I had time to just sit and reflect, ponder, dream, and write. Before my days were filled with all the endless mommy duties. We all love our kids, we all love being a mom. That's a given. But while we dive into that role and consume our days with giving every last ounce of energy to our children it can get so easy to lose ourselves. Often, before we even realize it's happening.

I loved reading that letter that my 29 year old self wrote. Through those words I momentarily rediscovered who I was before becoming a mom. This is how I ended the letter....

"My life by no means has been mapped out. So as I look to my 30's in terms of what I get to do now, I know I have so much to look forward to.... 

"And as I look to the next decade of my life I know that I'll embrace these experiences with a sense of dignity and spirit of wisdom that only come with age. Lastly, there will be a fond appreciation as the great things enter my life because I'll know that none of it came easy. And truly, the best is yet to come." 

Funny how those words still ring true as I say goodbye to my 30's, in a good way of course!!

I love blogging and journaling about my kids. I've written about how I write letters to my kids on their Birthday every year. However, today I was reminded how important it is to take the time to really get back to me, to nourish those passions outside of the mom/wife title. We've heard it before, taking care of yourself makes you a better mom at the end of the day. You all know the airplane/oxygen mask analogy. (If not message me, I'll enlighten you.) ;) Knowing this and actually doing it are two different things. Last year, with the help of a very supportive husband I took one session of guitar lessons at one of my very favorite places. It was a place I had frequented in my 20's, where I first learned to play guitar.  A place filled with music and inspiration. It was glorious to spend a couple hours of week doing what I had once loved. It's little baby steps, finding the time here and there, that collectively help us to connect with our authentic selves.

 Finding my journals inspired me to bust out the pen and paper and jot down my thoughts, write letters to myself again. I think it's a simple way to engage in self reflection. If you don't know where to start in the journey of rediscovering yourself, start there. Write yourself a letter. Blog about it, share it, or keep it private.

I plan to make a conscious effort to do this more often as I truly believe in the importance of writing things down. Pouring your thoughts onto paper gives them power and gives you the writer a sense of clarity. For me personally it helps to reflect on where I've been so I know where I'm going and what I want to achieve, what I want to let go of, and what I want to put more time into. Writing letters helps me to see my life now in a way that I might look back on it in 20 or 30 years. That I may see it for all it's goodness, it's aliveness, and the love and joy that surround me every day.

This is my hope for you as well.


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