I never thought I’d be the parent that took preschool graduation photos. It just didn’t seem like a big deal to me… to “graduate” preschool.
And then my oldest finished preschool and was gearing up to enter Kindergarten. And some of her best friends were having little graduations and I saw they’re pictures & I decided I might regret missing this opportunity. So I borrowed a friend’s cap & gown, took Rylie on a mini-date and took some photos with my phone. And you know what, now that I have the pictures, I WOULD HAVE BEEN SO SAD if I missed this!
She hasn’t “graduated” in the terms of “done learning,” because we never stop learning, exploring, playing, discovering & growing. Even as adults. But we are saying goodbye to a season of her life… we’re saying goodbye to toddler-hood.
she’s entering a new one called Kindergarten. Elementary School. And we’ll still play, a lot. We’ll still learn and struggle and discover and stop in wonder at the simple things. Because it’s important!
I showed Aaron the pictures and he started getting emotional. “13 years… that’s all we have until… phew man.”
And I’d be lying if I didn’t say I got some feels myself.
So now, when she’s 18 years old and receiving her High School diploma, I’m going to pull these pictures out. And we’ll giggle and probably reminisce – but more than anything, we’ll be celebrating Rylie Annalise – whose personality, humor and joy will still be shining through!