Independence

Lucy had an absolutely wonderful kindergarten year. She made some great friends and had the perfect teacher for her. Her teacher sent a very nice message to all the parents at the end of school and she also made a very special present for each child. She took a pillowcase and had each child in the class sign their name on it. Then Mrs. Williams wrote a message to each child on the pillowcase, too. Her message to Lucy brought tears to my eyes as the last sentence said, "You have learned so much this year and found your independence."

I didn't realize until reading this message how true that really was. I remembered how at the beginning of the year her teacher gave the parents a sheet to fill out giving her more information about our child. She asked us to write down anything we'd like her to know about our child and what we want our child to learn this year. When I filled that form out I was a little frustrated with Lucy because she had been going through a time of being really clingy to me. It was frustrating to me. We would go to birthday parties for her friends and she wouldn't play with them. She would just cling to me. Everyone told me this was just a stage, and blah, blah, blah, but it was frustrating!

Well, fast-forward throughout the kindergarten year and Lucy is now doing things on her own and does seem to be so much more independent that this time last year. I didn't realize that had even happened until it was brought to my attention by that note. I'm so very thankful for her independence, yet find it a little bittersweet because she doesn't seem to need me as much as last year. Funny how that goes......... :)