Just Call Me Twilight

When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life.  When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I wrote down ‘happy’.  They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.  –John Lennon

A week and a half ago, Oldest Daughter started the Second Grade.  As excited as I was for her and the new adventures waiting for her right around the corner, I will admit that I also harbored a bit of sadness.  Sadness that my firstborn was growing up before my eyes; sadness that there wasn't a darn thing I could do to stop it.   So today, my mixed bag of emotions greeted me with the alarm.  Youngest Daughter was starting Preschool.   As we started the Preschool countdown by marking off each day on the calendar, equal parts enthusiasm and dread settled in my heart.  Every passing day saw these two emotions growing just a tiny bit bigger .  But I knew this little girl has been ready to start school (so that she could be just like her big sister) for at least the past year.  For this reason alone, I swallowed the dread and decided to only be excited for her. As we marked off the days counting down to the start of Preschoo...