On the End of an Era

Twenty-one years ago this month, I got a packet in the mail.  I was absolutely thrilled to receive it - our almost three-year-old daughter was going to start preschool in the fall at our Lutheran school.  I was equal parts excited and shocked that my little baby was old enough for school.  It felt like a moment - her preschool enrollment was to begin our family's journey in the Lutheran elementary school years.  

Fast forward.  Tomorrow is re-enrollment day again.  But this year, I won't take my form to the office, enrolling 1,2,3,4, or 5 kiddos in our school  Tomorrow will be a regular day for me.

It's a bit surreal to know that next year I will walk in the doors for work by myself.  I won't have anyone tagging along, helping me take down chairs, waiting for me to get done after school, or popping down to my classroom midday for a hug or a visit with my littles.  It feels like the end of an era.

Let's pretend I'm a swiftie - we'll call it our Lutheran School Era (I never said I was a creative swiftie!).

 In this era, we've:

• gone to 11+ Christmas/Mother's Day/Thanksgiving programs per child (though many overlapped between kids), so maybe roughly 35, but who's counting?
• listened to/helped with more memory work passages than I can try to count, all of these moments being good for my own faith as I memorized Bible verses and sections of the catechism 
• participated in 21 National Lutheran Schools' Weeks, complete with special dress days, which are not my strong suit, but luckily Daddy is creative
• thanked God for our children's teachers, for our church and school, and for the steadfast mission they have always had to give their students Jesus 
• cried through 21 Blessing Chapels, and thus far 4 graduations, soon-to-be five (I fear some ugly crying might show up)
• helped our children work through countless struggles, hopefully teaching them valuable skills along the way
• attended about a zillion volleyball, soccer, basketball, and games, and many eternal track meets, washing stinky uniforms many nights
• watched the kids participate in spelling bees, geography bees, math competitions, music concerts, and talent shows
• prayed, and prayed and prayed

Lots of things in the list above will carry on into high school  - we still have two kids at home after all.  But this May will be the end of a very long era in our house, and it stings just a bit.  I'm excited for my youngest daughter to join her big brother in high school, but I also long for those little-kid days with part of my heart.  The height of our Lutheran School Era was craaazy - there was so much to help the kids keep track of in those days.  But I look back on it all so fondly.  

I'm grateful for everything that has brought us to this point. Our Lutheran School Era is finally an adult - a full-fledged 21-year-old.  It's time for our next era now, and we're ready for it.