Thursday, August 19, 2010

A Big Day for Generation Z

According to Wikipedia, "Generation Z'ers are typically the children of Generation X, their parents also include the youngest Baby Boomers as well as older members of Generation Y."

My son, The Most Wonderful Boy In The Word, started kindergarten today.  He missed the cutoff last year, which means he will be turning 6 in just a few weeks.  Everyone has asked my whether I cried when he went to school.  I didn't because he is more than ready.  He went to summer school at his current school, so even though he's in a different room, has a different teacher and only has a few of his friends from summer school in his current class, he's hitting the ground running. While the time has gone quickly, I don't want to hold him back and I'm trying not to hover.  I think I've helped instill the coping skills he'll need, but he remains really sensitive. I don't think I want that to change.

I tell Wonder Boy that he has an old mommy.  That made getting pregnant and staying healthy through pregnancy a challenge.  Thank G-d everything turned out all right.  A very wise friend, who had her second child at age 42, once said that what we lack in youth we make up in wisdom.  She is so right.  I was a much better mother at 38 then I would have been at 28.

Being older has helped me appreciate and cherish every little moment with my son.  Like most things in life, this morning's big deal was anti climatic.  I took him into his daycare room and he melted into his friends and the fooosball table, unaware of the enormity of the day.  Yet ordinary little moments, like last night when he told me I was the best mommy in the world, will linger in my memory like a postcard.  It reminds me of when I was in Paris.  Yet, the Eiffel Tower is cool, but rounding a random corner on a random Parisian street and taking in the vignette of the boulangerie, the charcuterie, the cafe and people with their dogs somehow made a greater impression.

So go into the world, my son.  Enjoy learning all there is to learn.  Mommy will be waiting to hear all about it.

Zay gezunt, Generation Z.


2 comments:

  1. Congrats to both of you! My youngest is going off to college in a week or so. Now that's something to cry about! But seriously, I have been through so many momentous transitions with my two daughters, and I have rarely cried or even looked back. There is always so much to look forward to with each new phase. Enjoy!

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  2. Beautiful post. I know I wouldn't have been able to do it as a 28 year old. I just wasn't ready. Yay for having a son to cherish. :-)

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