School Daze

That's our little schoolgirl, just as pleased as can be with herself. You all warned me that it--Lily's babyhood--would pass this quickly. And so it has. Look at this girl! Where's my baby?

Sensing she was ready for an expanded social circle and broader range of experience, this Fall we decided to enroll Lily in a two-morning-a-week toddler program at the local Montessori school. It's a lovely school, set on beautiful grounds, with a palpable aura of love and respect for the children. The Montessori method teaches independence, self reliance, and critical thinking from the earliest age. And I can't help but think that some of this is already wearing off on Lily. Each day when I come to pick her up from school, she marches out of the classroom like she owns the place. There is a very certain and proud independece about her as she escorts me out of her school and to the playground, before we finally get around to finding the car to come home.

Our little girl is growing up a little more each day. I know this, intellectually at least. It's just that sometimes life is so busy, you don't notice just how much your child has grown and changed because it happens as the result of thousands of nearly-imperciptible moments of discovery. But every once in a while, the reality of it catches up with you and slings a quick little arrow through your heart. I admit it, it very nearly brings me to tears each time I watch her bolt out of the classroom and run excitedly down the hallway to me, her schoolbag in hand and a huge smile spread across her sweet face. Just when did she get so big?