On the eve of my return from BlogHer, I sat down with my oldest, DQ and chatted about all the wonderful things I saw in NYC as we packed her bag for the first day of 3rd grade.  I asked her if she was excited as she carefully picked out just the right outfit for Monday morning and reassured her that even though I had to go to work, I would be back in time to take her to school.  The one thing I enjoy most about that first day of school is walking her to her class and this year was no exception.

Work is hectic at times, life is busy all the time it seems, but there is nothing like that ‘First day of School’ to remind me just how quickly time flies and how precious it really is.  You see, we chatted idly as we waited for the bell to ring and I asked again if she was “excited.”  This time she replied with ‘Yes, but I’m shy and what if my friends are not in my class?’  I always find this statement odd, because MY CHILD (very much like her momma) is not shy and can talk your ear off if given the chance.  “Well hon, I think you will just have to take a deep breath and smile and say ‘Hi’ to a new friend, if you do not know anyone from last year.  You can be nervous, but I promise they won’t be strangers for long.”

She smiled and when the bell rang grabbed my hand as we walked down the hall together in search of her new class.  It reminded me of the previous 3 years I’ve held my daughters hand as we walk towards her new class and each year she says the same thing “I’m excited, but I’m shy” and by the time the day is over, she’s made a new friend or two.  This year however, when we arrived at her class, she greeted her teacher with a ‘high 5′ and walked in confidently instead of holding my hand all the way.  This year, when she found her desk she simply began unpacking her backpack and said...”Ok, bye Mom with a wave” instead of the usual hug I’ve received so many times before.  This time, my little girl was not so little and took her first (of many) confident steps into the world around her without my hand. 

This time…she took a deep breath, smiled and said ‘Hi.’