Happy High School, Emma!

Emma started her first day of high school yesterday. Instead of taking the traditional high school route, she has opted for one of Hartford’s magnet schools. For Emma, it shall be the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts! I was a bit apprehensive about the prospect of Emma attending a school over an hour away from home. . .and for good reason. The transportation is a nightmare, and this decision ultimately affects our whole family, in varying degrees. But between you and me, I am slightly envious. When we visited the school for orientation last year, I was instantly hooked! What a great facility and what great programs. I would have loved to have attended this school at her age. And so the decision was made.

With my little Emma starting high school, I can’t help but be sentimental. I, myself, am sick of hearing how quickly it all goes by, in regards to watching your children grow. But it really and truly does!  As if it was only yesterday, I can remember sneaking into Allgrove School, just to catch a glimpse of my little curly-haired munchkin on her very first day of kindergarten. There she was sitting in her little person-sized chair, with her big bright eyes fixed intently on the teacher. I broke the rules that day, but in return I received a priceless image, that I will hold with me always. Besides, Emma's kindergarten classroom was in fact the very same room I sat in as a new kindergartner, twenty two years earlier! Really, how could I resist?

With this new chapter in Emma's life just beginning, I have found myself waxing nostalgic about her younger years in general these days. And with baby Otto on the scene, I can't help but think that the nostalgia is only further fueled, dare I say "inevitable", given the physical likeness between Otto and the Emma of her youth. To those that have teenagers who will rarely hold hands, or give a giant bear hug, or splurge in a flurry of kisses, perhaps what I am about to say will sound a bit less odd. 

A bit.. . 

It has happened, on occasion, that when cuddling Otto, I look down to see my baby Emma! The unthinkable has happened and time has unwound itself 14 whole years, to reunite me with my baby girl. There she lays, snuggled up in my arms, as if it were 1997 all over again. I am able to hold her tiny hands once more, give her little body a full-on bear hug and splurge in a flurry of kisses right on her neck, until she breaks out in an unstoppable giggle. What a treat!

Well, the reality is, it truly does all go by so very fast. But sometimes, the spirit of a memory really can live forever. If you just know where to look.