Pre-K... Already?!?!?!

You guys…

I am one emotional Momma. My Emma, who just turned four years old, is getting ready to officially start Pre-K. That means that I have one more year until she’s in “Big Kid School.”
Duhn, Duhn, Duhhhhnnnnn.

I’m having a very hard time dealing with my emotions on this big event.

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Last week, when I picked her up from school, there was a letter to all the Moms and Dads of the kids who were allowed to move up to the Pre-K class; Emma’s birthday allowed her to go into Pre-K this year instead of going into the 4’s room. How crazy is that?!?! She will be a younger kid in her graduating class.

The letter indicated just a few things that all Pre-K kids would need… a fitted sheet and blanket for nap, a water bottle of her own, and most importantly (and this is the one that killed me), a backpack. Yep. A backpack. Often referred to in my day as a “book bag.” This one item tugged at my heart and I cried, right there in her old classroom. I cried because she’s not a baby anymore. I cried because she is going to be in the big kid class of her little daycare. I cried because we can never go back in time to see our littles when they were actually little.

This deep dark cloud has been following me ever since then. If I let myself think about it for too long, I’ll cry big alligator tears. Even when people ask me about Emma going back to school, I try not to dwell on it and I give short, to the point answers. So, if you know me in person, beware of my mood this weekend and next week… I’ll be an emotional wreck!

I was eager to prepare for this big transition. I ordered her water bottle on Amazon (Camelback of course), and a decal for it on Etsy. I was going to take her to buy her a backpack but Grandma tackled that over the weekend. It stung a little that I didn’t get to do that piece with her, but Grandma is her favorite in the world, so it didn’t really bother me in the end; now if Daddy would have stolen that from me, he’d be in the doghouse for sure. We have her usual blanket for school that has worked perfectly thus far, but I might buy her a new sheet… all of her old ones are dingy (which is perfectly fine for at home, but I’m not too sure about sending it to school).

I got to check out her new classroom for all of one minute, but let me tell you, that what I saw was wonderful! It’s a real classroom! Oh my goodness, I’m about to cry just thinking about it. Tables and chairs, cubbies, educational posters on the walls… it’s hard to describe, but it’s like “real” school instead of daycare now! If I ever get the time, I’ll try to get some pictures or a video tour of it.

So, as you can gather, I’m a big ball of sad and excited all rolled up. I’m ready, but I’m not ready. I’m happy, but not really. I just want to get next week done and over with so that I can grow up and move on. You know, put on my big girl undies and deal with the fact that my little girl isn’t as little as she once was.

Nobody told me that it would be this hard.

If you’re a Momma out there going through the same thing, I feel for you. I’ll be thinking of you too.

She's more excited than I am!