I’ve been working with kids since I was fourteen-years old. At the time, I saw it as a way to help me get into college. Volunteering looks good on college applications, I always used to hear. Never thought it would become my profession. The thing I spend my whole life doing, in one way or another.

This year, I started working at my sons’ preschool. What initially started out as volunteering turned into part-time employment, and I’ve enjoyed so much of it.

What’s also come of it is a gift, something I imagine most parents don’t get: A firsthand account of what your kids are like at school. Much in the same way documentary filmmakers observe the wild cheetah hunting a gazelle, so, too, did I get to watch my sons roughhouse with their friends and scream and yell and jump and run and tackle and laugh and play.

They’re moving on to kindergarten next year.

The picture above was taken on their first day of preschool, nearly a year-and-a-half ago, as we had everything ready for them. Not even sure if those shoes fit them anymore…It also should be noted they don’t use these backpacks anymore. They didn’t outgrow them, but the work they were bringing home certainly did.

My wife and I panicked the day before, me more than her, if we had everything ready. Were they ready? Were we ready? After all, we’re dropping them off somewhere and then never going back for them…until it’s pickup time.

I spent my whole life working with kids, wishing for my own someday, then when the moment came, I was a panicked, worried mess.

Yes, I did need time off as a stay-at-home parent, but I also was going to miss them. Not only that, I wasn’t going to be solely responsible for their development anymore. Someone else, adult, child, was going to have some say and influence on the way my boys acted and behaved.

Thankfully, we picked a great school, and all their teachers have been wonderful to work with.

Guess I could count myself as part of that crowd now, since I work there and all.

Time’s not slowing down. It’s only going forward. They start kindergarten, then’s it’s 1st grade after that, then it’s on and up to graduating high school, like, next week. It’s endless.

Until it does.

(NOTE: I used the blog today as my Morning Pages space, so if you’ve ever wondered what an unfiltered mess of my mind is, then look no further.)

Thanks for reading,

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