Aren't You Glad You Stopped By?

I am having a melancholy day.

I awoke early this morning so that I could snap a photo of Will as he left for his last day of high school.  We sat at the table a few minutes before he left and shared our feelings about this momentous day.  His excitement tinged with a bit of worry about the future and moving out on his own.  My joy tinged with a bit of feeling old.  After all, Jim and I have had a child in school for the past 24 years...many of those years with three or more attending at once.  TWENTY FOUR calendar years have come and gone since Meagan started Kindergarten in 1989!

Will graciously went to my car and grabbed my camera so that I could take pictures of him smiling on the back steps as he made his way to his truck.  Then he drove off to face his last three finals: Algebra II, Government and Criminal Justice II.

I walked back into the kitchen and burst into tears.

Why?  I don't know.  I am having a mixed bag of emotions and can't really put my finger on any of them.

On the one hand I am so proud of him and looking forward to the next chapter in his life...as well as the next chapter in mine and Jim's lives with all adult children.

On the other hand, my baby has grown up and it is only a matter of time before he leaves home.  And then there is the whole "I no longer have children in school, only grandchildren" which make me feel really old!

I pulled myself together, started dinner in the crock pot and picked the vegetable garden.  Or so I thought, because as I was getting ready for work and telling Jim about my breakdown, I started crying again.  My poor husband really doesn't know what to do with me today.

I made it into work and was joyfully going about my day, looking forward to a fun night at the theater with Robin and Stacy tonight.  I stopped to download the picture of Will for this post when I discovered that my memory card was corrupted and I couldn't get the photo off of my camera.

More tears!

So that's my day!  Aren't you glad you stopped in to check on us?

I hope I can make it through dinner and the play tonight without bawling my eyes out.  Thankfully it is a comedy billed as 'uproariously funny'.  I am giving myself three to one odds that the meltdown will occur before the final act.  Any takers?