And no, I'm not talking about my book this time, but my youngest son, who today started kindergarten.
Oddly enough, I didn't feel particularly sentimental when I sent my older two children to school for the first time. This time, I do. It's probably because I know this is the last time I'll have a child starting kindergarten. And I know this is just one more in a long string of lasts.
With my oldest, everything was (and still is) a first. Firsts are fun and exciting (and occasionally terrifying). With the middle child, all the major milestones are more like a second chance to get right what we did wrong the first time. But with the youngest, all the milestones are just last times. And lasts are...well...still exciting, but a little sad. The nostalgia sets in pretty much right away with lasts!
I suppose it's fitting, then, that this last coincides, more or less, with a first. I didn't know what to expect when it came to being published for the first time and it's been all the things a first usually is: exciting, fun, and a little terrifying. Happily, everyone who's read it so far and been thoughtful enough to post here or send me an email has apparently liked the story (yay!) and I haven't gotten any "Oh my God, this is the worst thing I ever read!" messages, so I'm feeling quite pleased. I'm sure someone will eventually find fault with it, but in the meantime, I'm enjoying the ride.
So, what do you feel more sentimental about: firsts or lasts? Have any exciting milestones, personal or professional, to report? Do tell!
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5 comments:
Ah, I feel your nostalgia, J! Zane will be starting preschool in a couple of weeks and since I have just two kids, it's my last "sending off to school" thing. I'm a nostalgia FREAK though so firsts and lasts are equally emotional. Quinn is starting first grade in two weeks and although she's been in preschool and kindergarten, this still feels very big (because it's all day I'd guess).
And may I be the first to congratulate you on your blog for finaling in the Put Your Heart in a Book contest! W00T!
Oh, I sent one to K-garden today, too! But not my last one.
Jody W.
First, congratulations on all your wonderful achievments! They are well deserved.
It never gets easier to send a child off.
When my daughter (my eldest) started college, I had to be sent home from work because I couldn't stop crying! And trust me, this is not typical. It took me completely by surprise that I was so emotional. I think it was the realization that the empty nest was coming. Even though I still had another one at home.
Awww, guys, you're going to choke *me* up. And I don't have any little birdies!
And here I am counting the days until mine go to school full-time and we've still got a couple of years of preschool left. But, I know when the time(s) come to send them off all day long, I'll cry and miss them.
I can't even think about sending my darling daughter off to college! Ack!
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