Overslept this morning, so I rushed the Reds into the car and raced to Matthew's school. Didn't make the bell, but there were other stragglers milling about and wandering in, so thankfully we weren't so late.
Instead of lugging Luke out of the car too, I told Matthew that I'd stand at the gate and watch until he passed through the school doors: "You're such a big boy now, I know that you'll go straight into class, right?"
Matthew regarded me with serious eyes. "I WILL, Mummy!" and set off, loping through the empty schoolyard with his hat askew and backpack threatening to topple him at any second.
He looked back once and waved. Twice. But not again and then I blinked and he was gone.
I know this should be an insignificant moment - it's no big deal, a traipse through the playground alone. But it feels like a big deal, like we've reached some sort of milestone. In taking those steps alone, it means he's that many closer to walking all the way to school by himself. And everything else that comes after.
Independence. Pride. Freedom. All things I want for him. Just not yet.
Not yet...
