Bus Stop Reflections: Letting Go on the First Day of Middle School by Ann Marie G. Halstead

And there he goes, off to middle school, taking a big piece of my heart with him. Without thinking about it, I started walking to the bus stop with him, being accustomed to walking both my boys to the elementary school bus stop. But my husband stopped me, pointing out that I'd embarrass him, that no one else's mom was there, that there were "cute, older girls" at the bus stop. And he was right. So I let him go, the first of many such middle school moments. 

While I'll admit that my heart was in my throat, I also felt proud of my son. I know he's ready for this next step. I’ll never forget that he turned around and waved to me just before he got on the bus. I probably needed that more than he did, and I suspect he knew it. And as the bus pulled away, I said a silent prayer that my first born will have a good first day, that kids will be kind, that he'll be kind, that he'll be confident, that he'll find his people and discover his passions. 

Parenting is the great equalizer, isn’t it? Because this is what we all want for our kids. And as our kids learn various academic and social lessons, we’ll learn the art of letting go. May middle school be kind to us, too.