Must. Stop. Reading. Mommy Blogs. Snif.

• It’s so easy to try and block out what this symbolizes {kindergarten}— the next phase of life. There they go, independent little beings, off to create their own opinions and judgments and perspectives. When will they not need us anymore? When will they stop putting their little hands in ours when we cross the street? When will they not ask — beg — for another bedtime story or song? It’s all flying by so fast. When you have little infants, your parents and friends all say ‘Try to cherish this, soon they’ll be off to college.’ And suddenly, here we are. Another reason to truly, really, live in the moment. And least for a little bit, today.

and of course, from dooce:

• Drop off on the first day was as difficult as I thought it would be, she clung to my arm as if she were drowning, and even though I stayed for a good twenty-five minutes and watched her climb the princess castle seven hundred times, when it was time for me to leave she was frantic. And I knew exactly how she felt, I remember the panic I experienced when my mother left me in that strange room all those years ago, but I finally knelt down and took the hand I had just used to wipe the tears from my face to wipe the ones on hers. And I handed her off to the teacher.