Because this is what we do...

My husband and I took Morgan to her first day of preschool today. Oh the little girl was excited. She was glowing in her enthusiasm. And I was careful to share her joy and not even let a tiny bit of my sadness show. Sadness that she is growing up so fast and it seems like just yesterday (and not 23 years ago) that I was sending my youngest daughter to pre-school. Because we love our children and our grandchildren...and because this is what we do. And we got to the preschool and she was almost bouncing out of her shoes and was talking so fast and squeaky she was hard to understand. And she hugged and kissed us but wanted to hurry, hurry, hurry to her new classroom. And I didn't drag my feet to stretch out this last moment of her being our little g-baby. And I hurried along with her, laughing and talking...even though I wanted to take her back home and make her be a little girl just a little while longer. Because we love our children and grandchildren and recognize that they need to be in the world and they need to grow...and because this is what we do..And we go to her room and my sweet husband pinned her nametag on (because it had to be "Gampa" doing it) and I wanted to grab her up and stop her from growing up because she is so sweet and she is so little and the world is so hard sometimes. But I smiled and took pictures and said "oh boy, oh boy" instead of crying...because we love our children and our grandchildren. And because this is what we do.


And she ran into her room without a backward glance...eager to do new things and meet new people and to find her own way in her own little world. And I started to cry but I turned away so there was no way she could possibly see. Because I would never, ever rain on her parade. And because we love our children and our grandchildren. And because this is what we do.

We open our hearts and let these little people take over all we are. We open our souls and let them take up residence there for eternity, through the good and the bad, the easy and the hard. And we never, ever turn away from them...no matter how much we want to sometimes to protect ourselves.

And we allow and encourage them to try new things, meet new people, find new pathways on their own...no matter how much we want to protect them and keep them safe from the world and sometimes even from themselves.Because we love our children and our grandchildren.

And because this is what we do.