His Shoes

2013

Well, he is finally sound asleep after numerous nervous questions. His bag is packed, his shirt ironed (yes, it was a rare occasion for the iron to make an appearance in our house), his oversized shorts carefully tucked and sewn at the sides by his nanna so they wont fall down when he runs. And his shoes - his shoes sit shiny and new waiting by the front door waiting to be worn for the first time tomorrow.

I will shed my tears now beacause tomorrow I wont have time. Tomorrow, I will be busy packing lunches, tying shoes laces and lining up little ones for the obligatory first-day-of-school photos. We will drop him off with smiles and reassuring hugs as he begins his school adventure. I know he is ready for school and I am ready for him to go too so I am not sad about him going to school - just more sentimental when I think back on the last 5 years and all the time we have shared and how he has grown. Apart from a handful of odd days and of course kindergarten last year, I have been with him every day since he was born and of course every mother has their days but really he is pure joy. Recently, during the holidays, he randomly calls out to me and says, "Mamma, I love you". And I keep wondering how much longer I will hear these words before his vocabulary is filled with other words and phrases and teachers' and friends' names.

Having a baby, is like being given the best gif t ever. You take care of it and love it and keep it all to yourself until one day you have to share it with the rest of the world and let other people help to grow and shape it.

And so when I look at his shoes, I keep seeing how much he is growing and remembering how lucky we are to have spent those first years with him. As our life now is about to be bounded by set terms, early starts and school holidays for the next 14 or so years, I hope the journey for him is a brillant one.

2012