Toes

Time is flying by and here we are, August already. In three short weeks school will be starting up again.
On the whole, we will probably be ready by that time for the comfort that a routine brings.
My two older kids love school and by that I mean all of it: the learning, the routine, the class participation, the friends. 
Trey loves the social aspect for sure and some of the learning but a good part of that he could happily do without. I was the same way, as I recollect, and so I am not too concerned. He is a smart boy and will grow to embrace learning more in time and as he can choose to learn about what he is interested in.


As of August 1, the Common App went live, which means Kate has moved from thinking about colleges in theory to actually putting fingers to keys to make it happen.
She's got her list of colleges she wants to apply to pretty much set (and it's under wraps, so don't ask!) and has looked over the supplements and essay prompts. She has stated her goal is to have much of the work that *she* needs to do completed by the start of the school year. Rob and I will still need to hammer out the financial estimate documents and then the many nuts and bolts will need to be tightened: Letters of Rec, transcripts, testing scores sent etc. It will be a busy few months.


I had my first "swallow back tears" moment yesterday. Kate and I drove to Gettysburg because I wanted to get some T's from an outlet there. On the way back, as we were chatting and listening to music, I noticed her toes wiggling along with the beat. Her feet were propped on the passenger side dashboard and her toes were just shy of the windshield, just dancing away. My mind flashed to those little baby feet and little baby toes.. the feet that were smooth as silk, like little puppy paws, having never touched the ground or walked on a rough surface. Now those feet are callused from her insistence on being barefoot or in flip flops. They've got over sixteen years of walking experience.. Walking in fits, starts and tumbles to a short stint in soccer cleats. Feet that pushed a scooter, ran up and down the basketball court and finally found their home in volleyball shoes and Active Ankles.  Feet that after many years of running to me will, in one short year, be walking away into a bright new future that I will know about only in the stories she tells.


This is how it should be and I celebrate her burgeoning independence. She is smart, driven and capable.. and luckily also possesses great self confidence and common sense. Wherever it is that she ends up, she will be fine. 


She will land on her feet.
But how I will miss those little toes.