Reflecting on my soon to be--graduate
With the shadow graduation looming on the horizon, I simultaneously
feel mixed emotions of pride, joy and sadness. First, I have been very blessed
to have two unbelievably
awesome daughters. Tonight, however I am reflecting on how quickly time has
passed between the day I dropped Kennedy off at preschool and now.
I remember picking her up at preschool the first day and how
excited she was to show me the little playground. She wore a Scooby Doo denim
dress and pony-tails. I also remember the day she came home from preschool and
proudly explained that she had gone to the bathroom, and had NOT yelled for Mrs. Coffman to
“come and wipe”. The confidence she
had after that accomplishment was amazing!
When she was in First Grade my oldest daughter, Katilyn cut
ALL her bangs off. It was right before Christmas pictures and I was livid, but
Kennedy’s attitude was priceless, “I have
to go to school until they grow back Mom, now stop crying”, she ordered as
I sat on the bathroom floor threatening to cut Katilyn’s hair too. I think
facing the world with NO bangs, not a one, gave her even more confidence than the whole wiping thing
in preschool.
In Second grade for career day, she wanted to be President
of the United States. “There’s no costume for that,” I told her. “All I need is
a badge,” she explained. So she dressed in a little plaid coat dress, all
buttoned up and wore a “Vote Kennedy Webb for President 2032” badge, (which I
still have). We ordered them online and she passed one out to everyone in the
class and again, her confidence grew
a little more.
In addition to confidence she began to develop a lot of compassion. She always stuck up for the
underdog, she tried to right every wrong and felt a sense of responsibility to
make things better. She was on a mission to be the ‘fixer’ of all problems and
troubles. This was great when she was successful, but tough when she wasn’t.
“I don’t want to be 11”, she told me on her eleventh birthday.
I remember telling her that she was silly and had to grow up, but that she
would always be my baby. Inside though… I was thinking the same thing… “I
didn’t want her to be 11 either”. I missed the rustling sound the diaper would
make when she would run away from me with something in her hand that she
shouldn’t have. I missed how she only wore one sock, and hid in the cupboards
and watched the “Wizard of Oz” non-stop.
Through Junior High and High School I watched helplessly as
the last shred of my “little girl” disappeared into a beautiful, strong,
somewhat opinionated young woman. It’s amazing to me how she can light up a
room by just walking in; or how her very odd sense of humor can send people
into hysterics. “She’s a weird one,”
her dad whispers to me, “wonder where she
gets it from” he winks. I could only hope she gets some of her
characteristics from me.
But regardless, I am so proud of the person she has become
and the passion she possesses. I know I have been given a great privilege to
‘watch’ this very special person change and grow into someone I want to be more
like. It’s strange, when you become a mom, you always think in terms of
“teaching and molding” this new little person so they can make it in life. But
I feel like I am the one that has been “taught and molded” by her. I pray I am
blessed with good health so I can continue to watch the wonderful, unfolding of
her story. I’m sure it will be a classic/ comedy/ drama/ academy award winning
saga.
