back seat parenting

I took the back seat this morning at Evangeline's school, and it was a great feeling.

 

When I drop Evangeline off at her school in the morning, it's my custom to walk her all the way into her class. It's not needed, strictly speaking, and a lot of parents don't do it, but as long as she doesn't mind, I intend to keep doing it. It's a reminder to her of how much I love her, she sometimes neds the added reminder a parent brings to take her things into class, and it's also an added safety feature, albeit not a deeply necessary one.

 

(The other kids in Evangeline's class also seem to enjoy seeing me. Several of them address me by name, show me their homework, or share other bits of news with me. They see me a lot when I volunteer at the school, and I think they enjoy the attention I give them.)

 

Today we arrived at school at the same time as one of Evangeline's classmates, a girl who also was at Daisy Scouts yesterday. Jocelyn and Evangeline walked in together, chatting animatedly about Scouts and other things, and I contented myself to walk a few steps behind them.

 

It was a glorious, heady feeling, seeing her connecting with a friend like this. It was a visible reminder that Evangeline is growing up and our relationship is growing into a new stage -- and has been all year, actually.

 

This sense of letting go and being let go, it's a long-term process, but it's what parenting is all about, isn't it?

 

She's off to a healthy start.