Four-Year Increments

Today I am grateful for good timing to take Oliver and the garbage out this morning between rain showers. I am also grateful for the peaceful sound of that rain falling.

Today our son Sam wraps up his 8th grade year and middle school. There is a low-key graduation event this morning and then he is officially done. Four years at the middle school flew by, just like the four years at his elementary did. (He went to a kindergarten center for one year.) Four years of high school are just around the corner now. 

I am proud of Sam and the young man and student he is. He has future direction and is level-headed. I hope those serve him well over the next four years. He is also typical in his teen angst and grouchiness at times, and I realize curiosity will likely lead him to make choices I wouldn't want for him. But I know that is all part of the deal of these formative years. We will keep communication lines open, even when his end may be closed. He knows our expectations, our hopes for him, and our love for him.

He knows, because we keep telling him.

My feelings are bittersweet. We are looking at when he can take driver's education and talking about first vehicles and jobs. How could my baby boy be at this point already? A day at a time, a year at a time. I am deeply grateful to be witness to his young life and his growth and development. 

Good job and congratulations Sam!  Have a nice weekend. I will be taking a blog break for a few days.