We May Never Pass This Way Again....

Education is not filling a pail but the lighting of a fire.  ~William Butler Yeats

Will takes his sisters safely across the parking lot to preschool....me snapping pictures and weeping over how bittersweet this moment truly is. This is the last time I take any of my children to their first day of preschool

When we arrived at preschool I could hear this weird booming sound and it wasn't until we got across the parking lot and passed some parked cars that we saw the source. These two beagles were howling for their humans...probably their little humans who were starting preschool for the first time. The girls thought they were enchanting as the dogs wagged their tails madly. What a great greeting on the first day of preschool!

Although our children's preschool has changed a lot in the 20 years since our oldest attended,
 this sign has never changed but reminds me how many firsts and lasts I have experienced and how much I have changed 

Our youngest daughters, Victoria Hope and Kathryn Mira, started preschool this week. When did they grow up? It's hard to believe this will be the last time I experience the "first" day of preschool with our children.

Victoria and Kathryn are so "BECITED" to start preschool...that is Victoria's word btw

"This time will never come again," is a mantra I have been humming to myself lately. Although we have two years of preschool stretching out ahead of us, with pumpkin patch field trips and all sorts of parties and special events. Before I know it, our little ones will be moving on to big kid school.

The first day of preschool is now behind me.

I remember when they were tiny, coming home from the hospital at 41/2 and 5 pounds.  I hovered over them, watching their eyes open for awhile, take in the world and then close with exhaustion. It took so much of their energy to just eat. As I fed them, I marveled over their delicate fingers and the down on the tops of their heads. I breathed in their sweet scent and as I fed them, I wished them to grow stronger and bigger so that this day would come. And now it too is past.


As you know many of my blog posts of late have been about our older children moving away from home and many would think our twin daughters are still years away from that and what's the big deal, but having that experience allows me the perspective of knowing how fast time flies. With me, it's always about LETTING GO! Is this only me or do we all experience this?

I do feel like I have been given such a gift to have raised a whole generation of older children and now I have the wisdom of hind sight, which I hope garners me wise enough to parent our last children with this knowledge. I will try to be more gentle on myself and on them.

So as I settle in to the fact that all of our children are out in the world, in one way or another, I'm going to treasure all these firsts and lasts and be really conscious each moment knowing, we will never come this way again.

When I was pregnant with the twins I used to call them my little ladybugs babies. They were due on June 14th 2011 but came a month early on May 20th..the Victoria Day long weekend....Ladybug season!

When I was thinking about a life philosophy I could pass onto my daughters (actually all our children) it would be in this poem called, Desiderata. Have you read it? It was popular when I was growing up. Many times over the years as I wondered why I was here on earth. I would recite, "I'm a child of the Universe, no less than the trees and the stars and I have the right to be here."

I want my children to head out into the world with this belief in their heart, or at the very least in their back pack, so they can dig it out now and then and find something that speaks to them.

 Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your career, however humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be critical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness. Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann 1927©

Sigh.....isn't that GREAT!

When I was loading my itunes the other day I came across an old Seals and Crofts song (yes I'm dating myself here) I loved growing up. Little did I know how profound it would be to say goodbye to our children, whether they are starting preschool for the first time, heading off to University in another city or flying to the U.K. to start their new life. Knowing how precious the time is makes you stay right in the moment and yes, sometimes weep but often rejoice in the beauty of it all.

Fly little lady bugs! 

 

Our Little Lady bugs, Kathryn and Victoria

          For we may never pass this way again

(If you are using an Apple product, you may not be able to connect with this YouTube video, if so, please click this link,  .it's Seals and Croft's song, "I May Never Pass This Way Again."

Thank you for sharing in more of my letting go moments.

Until we meet again, may you be well, happy and peaceful.

Blessings from Hope