Help me Rhonda

There's been a fair amount of baby mama drama around these parts with a certain Ms. A starting kindergarten.  My beautiful girl is getting ready to spread her wings.  She's ready of course as she always has been.  I suppose she's always reached for a little more independence than I've been comfortable giving.  Truthfully, I've got a lot to learn from her.  She's never held back in anything she's done.  She moves forward without fear and always gives it her best and most creative efforts.  I love so many things about her from being the worst joke teller to being the most agile at the playground.  I love how she can take a roll of scotch tape and 6 sheets of paper and make a travel bag for her pet tiger.  

I love how easily she makes friends and how tender her faith is.  Her smile can knock me flat out on a daily basis.  I love the difficult parts too. (although I don't like to admit it)  Because I know those qualities will serve her well some day.
So I'm prepared to let someone else in on this good thing we've got going on.  I will logically tell myself that there are other people who can help grow this girl into the woman she's meant to be.
But I will first give myself a full three quarters of an hour to mope around the house.  I will eat more than a few cookies.  I will whine to Ben about how this feels like the beginning of the end.  The first step towards letting her fully go.

And then I will put on a brave face and throw a back to school dinner.  I will tell her how much fun she'll have and how much she'll learn.  And then I'll walk her to the bus and wave goodbye and breathe deep with thankfulness.