Kindergarten Registration

Yuck. Ugh. Annoying. Irritating. Um....just a few of the pleasant words I could come up with for what my morning felt like. I went to register Sadie Jane for Kindergarten this morning. I didn't bring her with me, b/c I was able to go up there a few weeks ago with her and a friend of ours took us on a tour and we were able to meet the teachers, etc., so I didn't feel a need to drag her up there with me today while I filled out a hundred pieces of paperwork! I felt so out of place today at her new school. I know I will look back on this and laugh one day, b/c she'll be fifteen years old and I will feel ridiculous for ever feeling this way, but for now, I am allowing myself time to be irritated. I'm just irritated that these past 5 years have gone by so quickly. I am irritated that I feel like I have to "let go" so soon. I am irritated that the VERY FIRST YEAR my child starts school, the STUPID school board decides to extend the day and now my sweet angel will not be home until freaking 4 o'clock in the afternoon every day. S-T-U-P-I-D!!!!!!! I mean, what Kindergartner has to stay at school until almost 4:00??? R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S. I never thought I would say this, but after today, I would give my right arm if we could afford to put our kids in a sweet little Christian private school. Her school just seemed so big today! There were people and kids running around everywhere and I just feel like little Sadie will be lost! I have been praying for a long time that God would put her in the most perfect classroom for her and that He would place her with the teacher that she is meant to be with and that there would be extra special SWEET friends in her class that would help her to be a better person and friend for years to come and that she will be the same for them. So, I just have to give it over to Him and KNOW that HE has got this! Until I completely let go, I am going to at least let myself continue to be irritated for at least a little bit longer. I've dreaded this day for a while. I've never looked forward to her going to "big" school. But, I have been ever so blessed with the best preschool around. So, I am extrememly thankful for that and I am just going to eat her up all Summer long and pray that each day goes by S-L-O-W-L-Y....until August 6th. Boo.

Soapbox

Gotta get on my soapbox for a minute...just because my kids don't play team sports right now, at the ages of 5 and almost 4, doesn't mean they will never amount to anything. Just because we don't want to get our kids up at the crack of dawn on Saturdays, spend 4 out of 7 nights a week at a ballpark, and spend every extra dollar we have on uniforms, hats, gloves, etc., doesn't mean that we don't care about our children. Honestly, I think it's quite the contrary. I think we love our kids that much MORE because we enjoy our family nights at home, in our own backyard, playing ball with each other, sitting by the firepit and having dinner together every single night.
Dennis and I make these decisions together...we took a Parenting class at church from the Preschool Pastor and he lead us through a Dr. Kevin Leman series. He was very adamant about keeping your kids home with you for as long as possible. I learned so much from that and I plan to stick to it. He said that its highly unlikely that years from now, your kid will come back and say "MAN, I sure wish ya'll wouldn't have let me stay home and play in my own backyard for all those years! I sure wish ya'll would've just stuck me on a team and taken me to the ballfield"!
Does that mean that we're never going to let our kids do organized sports? NO!
It just means that for RIGHT NOW, we are going to keep our kiddos at home with us, and let them enjoy being a kid! They have years and years ahead of them for playing sports!
Dennis played high school football, baseball, and basketball! He also played college football. Oh, and did I mention that he won state championships in football and baseball? Wanna know when he started playing? In middle school!!!! Not when he was 4 years old!!!!!! You won't find another man out there who loves sports as much as him! I'm pretty sure that if God can make a blind man see and if He can turn water into wine, He can also bless my children with athletic ability IF He chooses to do so WHETHER they start playing this young OR NOT!
The chances that your child is going to make it to the NBA, NFL, or MLB are pretty slim. But, keep on believing! If it makes you feel better to start your child early in sports, go for it! I'm not going to judge you, so please don't judge me and my decisions as a parent.
We have lots of friends/family whose kids play sports and have for a while. I think that's perfectly fine! I'm not against it AT ALL. We just have chosen this path for OUR children at this time.
This time in my kids' lives is going to go by in the blink of an eye and I truly believe that I will never regret spending this time with them at home. I know one day, very soon, we will all be running in a thousand different directions every night of the week, so I'm going to soak up this time as long as I possibly can.
So, for now, instead of yelling "Go Blujays" or "Go Redbirds" or "Go Bucs", we yell out a big "GO TEAM PHILLIPS" and that's fine with us for now.