Home Grown

When my eldest was in Kindergarten, I remember thinking, "Look how big those kids are! Surely Keith is not old enough to be with them."

Last night I watched Kindergartners, next to first through fifth graders, in a program at school. The Kindergartners looked so tiny, I hardly believed I could have ever thought them to be so small.

My children looked so mature, so old. They were leaders in their respective classes. And they were well-liked by their peers, the faculty and other parents.

My son, now in Middle School, came with us to watch. Keith could not have looked less like the Kindergartner of yester-year, had he tried.

His adult-sized teeth have braces. When he was five, his teeth were smaller than the nail on my pinkie finger.

He is almost as tall as I am, and wears the same size shoes as I. When he was five, he had to reach up to squeeze around my waist.

When he was in Kindergarten, he wore a short, hair cut that didn't need any brushing, since he wouldn't sit still long enough for me to brush it. Now he sports a hair cut with bangs that swoop down into his eyes, except he works to keep it out- Not by brushing it, or by pushing it out of his way with his hand. He, and his peers, swing their heads in short sideways nods that make their hair fall to the side. (Usually this is accompanied by hands shoved down in jean pockets and a cool head jerk in some else's direction as way of greeting.)

At the program, there were a few high schoolers dotting the crowd. They seemed huge compared to my kids. But I stopped myself short before I dismissed them as "so much older." After all, it was not that long ago that my young Kindergartners seemed huge.

I'm not ready for them to be that big. Shoot, I'm not ready for them to be as big as they are. But I am looking forward to watching them grow every step of the way!