Outgrowing Elementary School

I've never been a sentimental person. I don't get sad when my babies grow up. I love it. They get closer and closer to not needing me and that's a beautiful thing. That's the goal right? Dan says I have a heart of ice haha. I'm just built different than most moms maybe. I love my kids. I think they're awesome. But I don't want to keep them little. I want to enjoy every stage. And when they're in their 20s and 30s, hopefully they still want to hang out with me. Mya already talks about me babysitting my 10 grandkids she plans on having, so there's that.

Today I went to my 12th and last elementary Halloween parade. I don't know how it is at other schools, but at Stanton Elementary, all the parents stand on the grass in the quad and the students, TK - 5th grade line up along the outer walls surrounding the parents. When it starts, they cue the music and one class at a time parades around, wearing their costumes while their moms, dads, aunties and grandparents take pictures of them. It sounds cute in theory, but people be crazy.

Every year, I stand on the side with the fewest amount of people. For some reason, no one thinks to go on the other side of the quad with more room. They just bunch up on the side closest to where they entered, fighting for a front row spot. It's madness. A mom with a crying baby struggles through the grass with her stroller and a toddler complains loudly that they can't see. The music blares way too loud if you're anywhere near the speakers. Another reason to stand at the far end.

Every year, people slowly make their way to the other side of the quad and crowd around me until I feel someone's arm touching mine, or a short grandma reaches her phone over my shoulder and yells in my ear, the name of her grandson or granddaughter. 

And I know that I could glare at them or tell them about boundries, but it's no use. It will keep happening. So I retreat to the inside grassy area away from the chaos and wait until my kid comes my way and I can quickly find a spot that's not too crowded, snap a pic or video and get the heck out of there. 

For the first few parades when my kids were little, I may have been one of those crazy moms, waving at her kid and calling their name. And I used to see a few parents I knew and talk to them. We had a whole church posse a couple of years ago. That was fun. But this year, as I looked around, I didn't know a single parent. And then I thought to myself, I think I may have outgrown elementary school.