Back To School!

It's back to school time here in the Ericksen-Kinzer household, and around the world. I look back over the summer and wonder how it managed to go by so quickly. I guess time really does fly by when you want it to crawl.

This is my daughter's last year of middle school. At the end of this school year, she will be going into high school. I'm not quite ready for her to be there just yet. I know that she thinks she's ready, but I'm not. It's hard to face when your kids are growing up.

Speaking of growing up, this is Bear's final year of high school. That's it. Job done. From then on, he spreads his wings and starts to practice all of the things we taught him. I know that he will do well. He is already such an impressive young man. ROTC, Boy Scouts, Soccer, and now, Fire Department. Add on to that his part time job, and he is one very busy young man. He handles it all in stride though. One last year...

I've pushed him towards independence all his life. I wanted to be sure that when the time came, he could not just take care of himself, but would be fully equipped to take care of a family as well. Now that he's almost ready to fly the nest, I almost wish I had held back some of those lessons. I almost wish he was still dependent on me, his mommy.

It is a bittersweet moment to realize that your kids are almost grown. All of the fuss and worry is finally about to pay off, and you really just want to hold on tighter.

Summer is almost over. We're one more school year closer to the great big world. Hold them close and hug them tight while you've got them. These are the moments we can never get back. I wouldn't change a thing!