The Last Normal Day

Normal is about to take on a whole new meaning for me. For the last 4 years and 358 days, normal has meant having Lily by my side. Last year she started full day school, but it was only 3 days a week, so we still had normal days in between. I loved those weekdays with her home,  we had parks and entertainment places to ourselves, playdates with friends, and the freedom to travel on easy days.

Today was our last day of "normal". Tomorrow is the weekend, Monday is a holiday, and Tuesday Lily starts Kindergarten. She will no longer be home with me all week, or even the majority of it. I will drive her to school and drop her off for 6 of her waking hours 5 days a week. I'm in tears just thinking about it. For our last day of normal we left Sunflower with daddy so we could run to the store together to pick out fabric for new crumbcatchers, took some pictures, had some "tea", took a walk, went to the playground, and picked up dinner so I could just put Sunflower to bed and spend some extra time with Lily.

Next week my baby leaves me for school and turns 5 all in the same week. I know it's a cliche, but the time really has flown. Half the time I think I still imagine her as a 2 year old who needs mommy for everything, not this independent girl who can do so much for herself, be a big help to me, and has already started worrying about what her friends will think . Some days I feel like I am dealing with a teenager. One day she will ask me how I know everything, the next she will tell me that I am wrong about everything.

Right now I am just hoping to make it through the drive to school and drop off on Tuesday without tears, at least not until I am back in the car and out of view of the school. I will think about how to adjust to the new normal after that.