Bittersweet

Today was the first day of school for kids in our area. My girls couldn't have been more excited. They already had their "Meet and Greet Teacher Day" at the school and were thrilled with their homeroom teachers. I thought last night would be difficult getting them to fall asleep with all of the thoughts in their heads but they went down pretty easily. This morning they woke up, brushed their teeth, let me do their hair (thanks to Aussie Hair Insurance...see my previous blog) and got themselves dressed without a complaint. My two girls were ready to start the new school year off with a bang!! I was excited too! Was being the key word in that last sentence. When we stepped outside to pose for our "First Day" photo session something hit me and hit me hard...


Preppy runs in the family



Yep, Bean has the preppy gene too!

It was one of those bittersweet moments. Ash and Bean radiated joy while I had to hold back the tears and put on a smile. It wasn't that I was worried they weren't prepared enough. It wasn't that I was upset that they would be off learning and experiencing new things without me. It wasn't because I didn't want to let them go and find out who they are as individuals. It was that when I looked through the camera lens, I saw two girls who have grown up in the blink of an eye.

Everyone always says to take your time and smell the roses and we all say we are going to. Let's face it though...life gets in the way of that sometimes. No matter how hard we try, we can't always slow things down the way we want to. As a matter of fact, the older I get, the faster I feel time moves. I look at my girls sometimes and I find a new freckle or a tiny little scar and I wonder how long it took me to notice it. They stand beside me and I wonder, "How much longer before they are as tall as me or even taller?". I wonder how much longer they will play with The Littlest Pet Shop, Squinkies, Legos and American Girl dolls? I wonder how much longer they will want to hold my hand while crossing the street for safety or just taking a stroll. I wonder how much longer they will be eager to share every detail of the day with me.  

I want my girls to look back on their childhood and know that their mommy may have made some mistakes along the way by allowing life to push me too fast at times but that my biggest achievement in this life was bringing them into this world. They are only starting 4th and 2nd grade and I already know that those two girls can be anything they want to be and do whatever they set their minds too.

I can't stop time from moving on but I can look through the camera lens a bit deeper and soak up every minute of it.

Happy First Day to my little girls, because no matter how old/big you get...you will always be my little girls! Ash & Bean, Mommy loves you!!

The Preppy Girl in Pink with her two preppy little girls