Good Bye 5th Grader

Never written a blog before but today seems appropriate to start something new:

Pulled up to the curb this morning to let my daughter off for her last day of elementary school. "Good bye Fifth Grader, next time I see you, you will be a Sixth Grader." Boy did that hit me as my words rang in my ears while I drove away.

Six years in the same school is wrapping up today. It was far more difficult for old dad then I would have ever expected. While I know a new door is opening for her as she goes on to middle school, it still hard to wave good-bye to the little girl we walked into Kindergarten just a few years ago.

Seems so long ago that her mother and I set in those little chairs for our first parent/teacher conference. How proud we were of the glowing remarks. Watching her grow through each grade. Proudly bringing home her first drawings, followed by hundreds of tests, then on to projects and writing her own stories this year. Not only has she brought home straight A's but she has learned how to learn and there is something absolutely amazing about that.

This morning I drove back around the block. Work would wait. I sat across the street, a few tears running down my face, watching as she finished her Safety Patrol duties. Then as I pull away... she sees me... A big smile and a wave... "There's my Dad..." How blessed is a man to hear those words?

She has grown into such a young lady. Selfishly I wish she would never grow out of needing me but how proud I am to watch her as she does just that.

Good Bye 5th Grader - Thank you God!