Milestones

The past two weeks have a whirlwind of milestones in the McGinty house. And, based on the Facebook posts of many of my friends, there is a season of change for many family's.

June 11th we had the honor of celebrating Noah's graduation from 8th grade. It is amazing how quickly the last 15 years have flown by. As we watched a slideshow of all the students, Noah's baby picture flashed on the screen and my heart skipped a beat. I was so young and a wee bit frightened at the prospect of being responsible for a human being in 1995. Suddenly, it is 2010 and he is sitting on a stage in a cap and gown, graduating with a 4.0 principal honor roll and making silly gestures with all his friends. {deep sigh} Well, we have made it this far.

That same evening, my baby girl was promoted to the 8th grade. This is particularly exciting since it will be the first time in 8 years that she has been at a school without her brother. Although my kids are very close and get along really well (relatively speaking), she is looking very forward to the new school year.

Yesterday, my son practiced for the first time as a freshman on the high school field. Now, that is weird. Just when we passed the 8th grade milestone, seeing him compete against seniors reminded me that things are not slowing down anytime soon.

Today, I sent Grace off to junior high camp all by herself. Well, she was with other campers of course, but she was without her big brother. It was so bittersweet. She was all smiles as I drove away and since she spent two days packing and preparing, I know that this is something she needs to do all by herself.

I was telling Jeremy this morning that there is so much change on the horizon. Although there is that sad, 'saying goodbye to the way things have always' sort of feeling; there is also a lot of excitement. Noah is counting down the days to football and high school already. Grace is counting down the days to cheer (another thing she is doing without her brother being on the football team) and 8th grade. Most likely it is just me that is lamenting the impending loss of my two peas in a pod. After all, I waited to put Noah in kindergarten so he could have a scholastic advantage and because I wanted him home with Grace and I for one more year. But, I am slowly warming to the changes and look forward to what lies ahead.

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven..." Ecclesiastes 3:1