We often ask ourselves “where did the time go”; the moments seem to slip by so quickly. My daughter, a 1st grader, began her journey at a new school this week.  In the midst of driving her to school on her first day,  I found myself thinking about the very moment her Daddy and I first held her – in China, when she was only 8 months old. Now, she is a 1st grader. Oh, where did the time go?

Though the school has strict carpool rules, they bent them a bit on the 1st day and parents were allowed to walk their child to class. I asked my daughter if she wanted me to walk her and her answer was “no, I want to practice my normal routine”. I paused, I literally felt my heart stop … then, in the silence, I realized that I am doing something right – I have an independent daughter who trusted herself to find her own way. Isn’t that really what it is all about … teaching them to trust themselves, to believe in themselves?

Before walking up the sidewalk to begin her journey, she stopped and gave me a BIG HUG – I could feel her heart racing and her body trembling with nerves. I said “are you sure you don’t want me to walk you” … she looked up at me and said “Mommy, it is just nervous excitement” and off she went. Off she went, confident in herself that she would find her own way.