Wasn't it just yesterday?

Dear Elyssa,

Today you're done with elementary school, and it doesn't feel like all that long ago, I was holding you for the first time. 






It doesn't feel that long ago that I was rocking you to sleep and couldn't even keep a weekend job because I was so in love with you I couldn't bear to be apart from you.

I remember teaching you to read, write, add and subtract, but what I wanted you to learn more than anything was to love yourself and to never be afraid to just BE yourself.  I never wanted you to care what other people thought of you, though you have and you probably will in the future, hopefully that phase will pass sooner than later. 

On your first day of pre-school, you were SO very excited.  I cried on the way home from dropping you off because I was so full of pride and anguish at the same time.  You walked right into that class room and never turned back.  You were so independent and I was so happy, yet sad, at the same time.

When you started Kindergarten, you were even more thrilled than when you started pre-school.  You thought it was the best thing that has EVER happened to you.  You were always so glad to go to school and so happy to be there.  I think you had honor roll every year of your elementary career.  Congratulations my love!

I want to give you the world and hide you away all at the same time.  You've wanted to be a professional Princess, Ballerina, Rock Star, and now lately, you want to be a Lawyer.  I'm not sure how those things go together, but I love that you have dreams.  I've always wanted to protect you, because you always seemed so fragile to me, on many levels.  You've always been so sweet and kind, and nothing like me, that I've worried that you'll be taken advantage of.

On the first day of school for Fifth grade you were sooooo excited about your outfit being all from one particular store that was popular amongst your friends.  By the weeks end, you had learned that it really didn't matter to wear those specific clothes, but you were thankful to get it out of your system and realize that the people who were your friends, didn't care at all what you wore. 






Your teacher told me this year during conferences, "Do not underestimate her ability, she's a little firecracker when she needs to be, she doesn't let people push her around, and she sometimes looks or acts like an easy mark but isn't". 

That was probably the proudest moment for me as the parent of a wonderful little girl with all of these fears inside of me; the fear that you would not be able to handle the bullies and assholes in life. 

Apparently, you are doing just fine, and staying true to yourself in the process and I couldn't be more proud to be your mother.