Growing Independence...

** I've been (obviously) playing with my blog yesterday and today.  I still haven't gotten it quite right, so there's likely to be more changes as I attempt to learn more about how to mess with the html in my template (sounds kind of scary, doesn't it?), so sorry it's kind of clunky and messy right now!  Oh well, what do you do?!

Anyway, today is Emerson's first ever school field trip!  And let me say, she is so excited!  Her class is wrapping up an animal unit and are going today to a local veterinarians office, who also happens to have a pregnant horse that we will be able to see (Exciting?  I'm not so sure about that one!).

After getting the permission slip a few weeks ago for the trip, I expressed  that I'd like to go with their class and she seemed to be excited about that!  But as the trip has gotten closer, she began asking if I was going to ride the bus with her.  "Of course!" I said excitedly, and she went on her way.

But this morning, she asked again, and then said as politely as she could, "I'm a big girl, Mom.  Could you please not ride on the bus and ride in the van today?" 

Huh?

What?  My little girls doesn't want me?  Doesn't need me?

What a blow to this mommy! 

Of course, I wasn't upset with her.  And I explained that part of me being there is to help the teacher with the things she needs help with, so just because I'm there doesn't mean she needs to stay with me unless she wants to - of course she can sit by her friends on the bus and stay with them as we travel around seeing the animals, and if she wants to hold my hand, I'd love it, but it's definitely not required.

I let out a big sigh...  I knew it would happen eventually.  As she grows, so does her independence.  And I guess I knew I was signing up for this when I sent her to her first day of kindergarten...

It's something that is hard to let go of for many reasons.

Thankfully, it's a slow process.  She has a few years with me yet!  We'll be learning together how to give and take of  it!  :)

(And I'll even secretly say that I love to see her express her independence and want to do things on her own - besides opening  her own yogurt at lunch!  I'm thankful I'm here to see those growing changes!).

Here's to a fun day at the vet (and no excitement of labor-ridden horses while we're there!)!