tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7727877663333685119.post6509379997482539607..comments2023-05-27T07:08:35.763-07:00Comments on First Day of the Rest of My Life: FIRSTS!Terry Castlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06629565101353628945noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7727877663333685119.post-14992251179999604202010-03-20T18:01:40.404-07:002010-03-20T18:01:40.404-07:00I have four sons and my baby graduates from high s...I have four sons and my baby graduates from high school this year. I've done this over and over, and maybe it does get just a tad easier. There is so much great stuff to look forward to -- seeing them step up and do well is just so affirming. <br /><br />It's a bittersweet thing, that's for sure.Laura@OutnumberedMomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10764574855540659528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7727877663333685119.post-56955622701507329482010-03-20T15:33:05.972-07:002010-03-20T15:33:05.972-07:00My daughter gets more and more independent every d...My daughter gets more and more independent every day, and I see my role getting "smaller and smaller," just as you said. We both cried the day she started preschool; I have a feeling it will be just me when I drop her off at kindergarten. College? I can already imagine the mix of sadness and joy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7727877663333685119.post-44856666094135718252010-03-20T13:44:39.918-07:002010-03-20T13:44:39.918-07:00My older son is only 2 1/2, but I already feel lik...My older son is only 2 1/2, but I already feel like the pace of change is accelerating. He is increasingly content to play by himself and he can do so many things alone. Obviously he still needs me - just as your boys still need you - but I can never escape the reality that the process of growing up is really all about individuation and their growing away from us. So the trick, I guess, is to figure out the ways that we can still grow - both with them, and as individuals.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7727877663333685119.post-42008607578386740062010-03-20T09:00:06.201-07:002010-03-20T09:00:06.201-07:00I could have sworn I commented last night but as t...I could have sworn I commented last night but as tired as I was I probably forgot to hit submit.<br /><br />Terry, I share your anxieties. My sons are also the classes of 2011 and 2014. Right now I'm stressing more about eldest son graduating than I am about youngest starting high school. Time does go by way too fast. Rather than looking forward to the next "first" I'm trying to hold onto each and every moment.Erica@PLRHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06708056443533231432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7727877663333685119.post-50971985088229003042010-03-20T07:34:05.337-07:002010-03-20T07:34:05.337-07:00I got a little teary reading this. My girls are st...I got a little teary reading this. My girls are still relatively small (4 and 8, respectively) but I can already feel them slipping through my fingers in small ways. Bittersweet and heart-wrenching ways.<br /><br />I love the picture--your boys look so genuinely happy.<br /><br />On another note...you've been to Iceland? Hubs has a conference there this summer and I'd love any insider's tips you might have?TKWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16409505008377005185noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7727877663333685119.post-5065059274054629342010-03-19T22:54:54.738-07:002010-03-19T22:54:54.738-07:00Terry, My son is also the class of 2014! And, get ...Terry, My son is also the class of 2014! And, get this, he's going to be at the same high school I graduated from in 1978! Never did I think that would happen. <br /><br />Maybe I ruined my experience of my kids' childhood, but I always felt like I was raising (potential) adults. To see my son now so tall and (kind of) mature, with thoughts of his own in his head and ideas of what he wants to do in high school - it's really exciting. I'm absolutely determined to help him have great high school years, not flounder around like I did. We'll see how bad I flip out when he goes off to college!Linda Pressmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01809808676659629555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7727877663333685119.post-25543224652943622422010-03-18T19:15:29.281-07:002010-03-18T19:15:29.281-07:00Oh, Terry, I wrote a poem about this a while back....Oh, Terry, I wrote a poem about this a while back. We celebrate firsts, but we never realize when many lasts come. Last time I picked up one of my kids (physically). Last time my daughter crawled into my bed during the thunder. And maybe that's as it should be. We get caught up in firsts, in the sweetness of what is new.<br />Like you, however, I'm feeling like there's just so much change at this stage, between my life and the kids....it's a lot. When my son was born I remember thinking he'd graduate HS in 2006 and it seemed so far away. 2014! Wow!Maureen@IslandRoarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17183530593417498063noreply@blogger.com