Hop Dad

Stepping Through to Fourth Grade

September 4, 2018 at 12:08 pm 1 comment

To My Sweet Daughter,

In the blink of an eye it is already September and time for you to go back to school. The smoke and the heat of summer are mostly gone, the leaves are turning color. During that brief, sunny season we spent most of our time simply at home, our days filled with playing soccer in the backyard, climbing the hazelnut tree, painting your room, and eating fresh tomatoes from the vine. There are no less than a dozen plastic containers of homemade slime in our house.

The big event is upon us – this year you will attend a new school. We had many late night talks about how that feels and what you are most worried about. Despite all of my reassurances, your smile was a little less bright this morning. You spoke in a quiet voice, close to me, and not about school. It felt like school was the one thing we didn’t talk about this time.

In the chaos of the first day, I missed that one last hug before you filed into school with your new classmates. Parents will always want one last hug before you go off to experience new things. Even so, I feel as though we are walking through that door together, leaving an old life behind to start something new. I will worry about you until the moment I pick you up this afternoon, because I know that first day in a new school is the most difficult day.

I have no doubt you will establish yourself right away as one of the best students, one of the best classmates, one of the best friends. This new school is lucky to have you. I look forward to seeing what you accomplish this year. I know you are capable of great things.

Be brave today, my sweet girl. Fourth grade awaits.

I love you more than everything.

Entry filed under: Being Dad. Tags: Babies, Being Dad, Children, Dad, Family, Fatherhood, Kids, Life, Mom, Motherhood, Parenting, Parents.