The Backpack

"That's the backpack I have always wanted," Andy exclaimed as we walked into Costco. "It's brown plaid-it's perfect!" To which Dad said,"Throw it in the cart." And so it began- the tears welled up in my eyes and I got all choked up over a backpack. Ok not just a backpack...
See I rememeber each August the thrill of a new school year approaching. My friends and I riding our bikes to the school office each day awaiting the posting of the classes so we could see if we got our favorite teacher, the trip to the store to pick out folders, lunch boxes, pencils, and crayons(oh how I love the smell of a new box of crayons). Then there was the search for that backpack- the perfect one- one that defined me. Would it be pink, or purple or have a rainbow? Each year it was a new search and each year a thrilling event that meant school was on its way! OK- as you can tell I was one of those kids who counted the days until summer's end instead of the ones who counted the days to summer's beginning. Andy is on the brink of a new adventure this year and he too counts the days til the end of the summer,for this year he starts "real" school.
We have always homeschooled Andy but now it is time to for the next step. He will be enrolled in a charter school this year and begins on August 18th. He will be home all week except Thursdays. That big day has him so excited. One day a week to see what "real" school is all about. He'll be taking elective courses on that day; writing, music, P.E.,art and math.
He has never needed a backpack before, but now it became a necessity. So, that day in Costco a new adventure began. I not only choked up at the memories of my hunt for a new backpack, but more at the moment. You know that moment most mom's go through as their baby steps out the door for his first day of kindergarten. Andy will be entering the 5th grade, but in my mind he is taking a huge step of independence. He will step out of my car each Thursday morning into a world unknown to him thus far. I will have lost something with him, but I will gain so much more. My son will show his light to the world, and I will trust God to go with him each Thursday as he embarks on this new adventure.