All Good Things

It's a rainy, really rainy Thursday, a few days before Christmas, and I just dropped J.P. off at Children's House for school.  Today is the last day of the semester and school closes at 11 a.m. today for Christmas.  I ducked in Bongo Java for a quick cup of coffee and toast.

As J.P. hopped out of my truck at Children's House this morning, happy as can be (talking about how excited he is to be going to "Vandy Camp" tomorrow), my heart skipped a beat or two.  I felt more than a little sad as I was struck with the realization that, in all likelihood, he just has one more semester at Children's House in Classroom B.  This fall, it's off to kindergarten.

It feels like we're just getting into the swing of things - play dates with classmates, getting to know other parents, my participation as a board member at at Children's House, etc. - and, suddenly, J.P. will be off to school somewhere else.  How can that be?

I think having a child caused you to spend a lot of time looking backwards in time, in a constant state of amazement at how quickly time has passed.  At least, that's the way it works for me.  Memories.  All kinds of memories of when J.P. was younger.  Hell, of when I was younger.  I suspect that tendency to look backwards will become more pronounced over time, as the road behind us inevitably lengthens over the passage of years.

Just the other day, or so it seems, Jude and I dropped J.P. off at Children's House together, for the first time and as we pulled away, Jude looked at me and smiled at the tears in my eyes.  Yesterday, or so it seems, I dropped him off to start his second year at Children's House.  He was wearing shorts and it was hot.  Today, he was bundled and it was cold and rainy and we're days away from my favorite holiday of the year - Christmas.  Again, how can that be?

Children's House has been such a blessing for our family.  A true gift to us, that our son has had a place to go the last two years, every day, where he's been able to learn, explore, grow and develop in a safe and nurturing environment.  It's been such a relief for Jude and me to know that in the middle of our busy, sometime crazy lives, J.P. is at Children's House, a place where he is loved and has learned to love.

A attorney friend of mine, Greg Smith, had this to say 2 + years ago, when Jude and I were trying to decide if J.P. was ready to go to school at Children's House five days a week (he was) - "The only bad thing about Children's House is that your children have to leave.  I wish my boys could have stayed there forever."

Greg, I couldn't agree more, my friend.  I wish J.P. could stay at Children's House forever.

The playground at Children's House, on a late fall morning after I dropped J.P. off.