My youngest child, my only daughter started high school today. She showed the same kind of nervous excitement she had when she started kindergarten and then middle school. She has always been full of energy and excitement. When I would drop her off at her elementary school, she would literally skip into the school. Today her older brother drove her to school. I doubt that they will be skipping into the doors, but I could tell that there was a kick in her step.
She got up very early. Her hairstyle was the prettiest of all of the different styles she has been practicing for the last couple of weeks. Her outfit had been laid out for days. I wish I could have laid out a magic invisible shield for her to wear, too. The shield would protect her innocent little girl’s heart from the inevitable growing pains that come along with the high school years. Hopefully, our love for her will serve as that shield. That and her protective big brother, the senior who has been through the ropes, will be her strength when her confidence gets clouded from peer pressure and academic stress.
My daughter has to worry about all of the things I did when I was in high school, but nowadays it seems taken up a notch. Bullying has a whole new realm with so many different social media options. The academic pressures are ridiculous. My two older sons graduated from high school with a year’s worth of college credits under their belts and that was the “norm”; nothing outstanding. And then there is the fear of violence. My teacher friend just underwent two intense days of school shooter training, required to be taken by everyone in the district, even substitute teachers. Dating has to be even more confusing in a day and age when exposure to every walk of life is just a click of a button away. The sports competitions are intense. I can’t believe how many of my kids’ friends have sustained serious sports related injuries requiring surgeries before they have even graduated from high school.
It is not my nature to be negative, nor is it my daughter’s. The trick is to balance hope with practicality, I guess. Today, I try to put a cloak of faith around everyone I care about with an extra prayer that they use the good sense and the intuition that they were blessed with to make wise decisions. The first day of school for all of us mothers is a day of Let Go and Let God, and also, where is that extra box of tissues?