2 letters we read to our son tonight before he starts Kindergarten tomorrow:

Dear Nathaniel,

Tomorrow is a really big day.  We’ve all been waiting and excited for this day for a while.  Tomorrow you will start Kindergarten!  We are so glad you are excited and looking forward to it.  We know you will love it and do amazing.

There are a few important things we want you to know as you take this big step of growing up.

First, school is such a GIFT.  There are a lot of kids all over the world who don’t get to go to school.  Ever.  They wish so much they could learn the things you will and sit in a classroom like you will.  Please don’t forget that learning and being in school is a privilege and a gift.  Treat it like a special gift every day.

Learning is one of the most important and powerful things you can do.  Learning helps us grow, understand, and opens up the world to us.  As your parents, we try to always keep learning and we hope you will always love to learn.  Listen to your teacher.  She has a lot of important lessons for you this year and she wants you to be your best.  She is always on your team.

However, learning from your teacher and books is not the only important thing about school.  We hope at school that you will also learn the important lessons of being kind and a friend to everyone.  Especially those who could use a friend the most.  You will see kids being left out or lonely.  Invite them to play or sit with you.

We hope when you’re at school that you will learn to be brave – to keep trying when something is hard or when you fail at it.  Try new things, try until you get it right, and be brave enough to always be yourself.

We want you to learn to always choose the right thing.  Sometimes, everyone else will seem to choose the wrong thing – maybe it’s teasing someone else, leaving someone out, or fooling around when the teacher is talking.  School will help teach you to choose the right thing even when you are the only one doing it.  This will also require bravery!

No matter what, always remember that we love you more than you could possibly imagine.  We are already so proud of you and nothing you do or don’t do at school will change that.  And always remember that even when we aren’t with you  – Jesus is.  He will be right there with you each moment of every day at school because you carry Him in your heart.  He will help you be brave and kind and stand up for what’s right.  He will remind you that you are loved just as you are and that you can give His love to others.

We know you are going to LOVE school Nathaniel.  It is fun and challenging and new and adventurous.  You are thoughtful, smart, happy, loving, and a good friend.  It’s going to be an amazing year of school!

Go get em kiddo! We love you with all our hearts.

Love,

Mom (and Dad)

 

My Son,

I am so proud of you all the time. Tomorrow when you go to kindergarten, it may be exciting, fun, maybe a bit new, or maybe a bit scary. But, you are ready for it and you need to know that your Mom and I will be cheering for you, just like we do at baseball and soccer.

Going to Kindergarten definitely means you are officially a big boy. You have had a great time in your two pre-school classes and now you are moving up to **** where all the big kids go. Part of that means going to school every day and probably some more homework. That might take some time to adjust to, for you and for Mommy. It will be a good change for you though because you love to be around your friends and you love to learn, both things that make your parents happy.

When you go to Kindergarten, I want you to remember who you are and whose you are. What that means is that you need to always remember you are Nathaniel Shevlin and you belong to us and to God.

Being Nathaniel Shevlin says that you are a kind, smart, giving, funny boy who knows what is right and wrong. You do things because you know what you should do, things you have learned at home, school and church. Other kids may behave differently, but Nathaniel Shevlin obeys his teacher without complaining, treats everyone fairly, uses appropriate words and is a friend to everyone, even if they don’t seem friendly at first. You ask really good questions and you want to understand how and why things work. You care about sharing Jesus with your friends and neighbors. That is just part of how God made you and how we have raised you to be. These are all things we want to see you do at your new school because they matter to our Shevlin family and to God. You are our boy and as a Christian, you are God’s child. They will not have an “I see Jesus” award, but we still want to hear from you about ways you showed Jesus.

You also need to know that every other kid is feeling some excitement and some scary just like you. Everyone is hoping to have a new friend. The best way to make new friends is to be brave and be kind with everyone you meet. You never know who your new best friend might be.

We are really excited for you and all the new experiences you will have this year. We want to hear all about it when you get home. You are going to do great! We love you from here to Antarctica and back.

Love,

Dad (and Mom)

And the one that’s just for mommy’s heart:

My Dearest Boy,

Tomorrow is a really big day.  Tomorrow you will start Kindergarten.

I am so grateful that you are completely excited.  There is not an ounce of nervousness or fear in you.  You are so brave and life is a big adventure to you.  I’m so glad I don’t have to worry about your heart tomorrow.

Just mine.

It’s not that I don’t want you to go to school.  I always loved school and I know you’ll love it too.  There are so many new friendships and learning and adventures in store.  And you, my boy, will eat it all up with your enthusiasm, boundless energy, and extroverted nature.

I have no doubt whatsoever that you will succeed in school.  You are a fast learner and you already have so many great skills.  I am confident that you will make friends.  You have always been well liked and you are kind and friendly to everyone.

So why is it the very thought of Kindergarten makes mommy’s stomach twist into knots, heart clench tight, and tears spring into her eyes?  Simply because it’s an end and a beginning.  And both are really really hard.

It’s the end of a season – a very precious all too short season where I was able to be a stay at home mommy to my 3 sweet boys who were all still in the nest.  Yes, I will still be a stay at home mom, but having you in school means we lose our mornings to be together.  Lazy mornings where we don’t get dressed until midday, slow starts, breakfast whenever we want, maybe running an errand or two, maybe a quick trip to the park.  I no longer have all my children at home full time and that feels very very different.  It’s a loss of many of our freedoms as a little family and an ending of having toddlers/preschoolers at home.  Now I have an elementary school student. And that’s a very different kind of season.  It’s the end of not being rushed in the mornings and having days to do whatever we choose.

It’s also a beginning.  The first letting go of my kids.  You will now have another significant adult influence in your life outside of Daddy and I.  You will be with your teacher 5 days a week for a few hours – no other adult has had that kind of regular place of influence.  It’s a beginning step of sending you off into the world without me, letting you spread your wings, even if just a bit.  It’s the beginning of a whole new world and what feels like a speeding freight train that we’ll never step off of again.  Once you start school, you’ll be in school for the next 17 years or so.  And each stage of those years means a little more independence from you, a little more growing up, a little more letting go.

Every new season of parenting brings joy and hardship.  I am so happy and excited for all that’s coming your way my boy.  But mama needs to grieve a bit over what once was, and what will never be again.  I will proudly watch you walk into your classroom tomorrow with head held high and a spring in your step.  But if I brush away tears as you do so, please understand.   It’s only because I’m so very glad you’re mine and wish I could hold onto you forever.  Going to school means learning for us both – in my case, it’s learning to let go.

All my love, forever and always,

Mommy