Bittersweet

This Mother’s Day began like any other Mother’s Day did in the past. My family woke up, had breakfast, and being a Sunday, we lounged around for a bit. But unlike any of the past Mother’s Days, this one ended differently, on a bittersweet note.

You see, instead of being able to lounge around in comfy pajamas and enjoy each other's company, my youngest daughter, Bonnie, had to attend her Baccalaureate Ceremony today at 1 PM. So I had to put on “going-to-town” clothes and take her to the High School, where we spent the next two hours while they practiced for graduation tomorrow and had the little ceremony.

I watched her with her classmates, and how they laughed and talked to each other. They acted more like a family, than a group of friends the way they treated each other. She’s been lucky her entire time throughout her school career. Her class is small, and most of them have been together since elementary, with Bonnie and two of them being together since preschool. Plus, the school is tiny and tight-knit.

So, as I watched her, and the others, walk down the aisle to their seats, I couldn’t help but think back over the years. As they were called forward to be handed their Bibles, I was unable to stop myself from seeing most of them in their kindergarten robes, tiny with no make-up or beards.

The dam burst, and the memories flooded forward.

• Bonnie threw a fit to stay at school, forcing me to put her in preschool before I was ready. (Is anyone ever ready for the baby to go to school?)
• Bonnie insisted on riding the bus to and from school from the time she was in preschool. (we only live five minutes from the school!)
• Bonnie learned in Kindergarten to accept punishment for something she didn’t do, just to shut the teacher up. (she never did forgive that teacher…)
• Bonnie got the WHOLE school closed down (Elementary and High School), because she broke a main water pipe. THAT’s a long story, lol.
• Bonnie was the only girl in her class from the second grade to the sixth grade. She’s so eager to have a friend who’s a girl, but making new girlfriends stresses her out so much. Put her in a room full of boys, and she knows where she stands. Don’t feel sorry for her though, teachers gave her special treatment because of this.
• All the Field Days that she participated in. Running, Jumping, and Tossing.
• The time her sister Courtney and she bleached her hair and about fried it all off. She was so lucky that time. My hairdresser fixed it right up.
• Taking pictures for her sister's senior photos, and Bonnie photobombing almost every single one of them. LOL.
• When Bonnie learned to ride the ATV.
• The first time she went hunting.
• Her first dance.
• How she hates singing but loves to listen to her music.
• I would get calls from her English teacher, asking if I’d read her latest story. The child has a wild imagination. I do not know where she gets it. LOL.

The memories just speed past my eyes. Faster, and quicker.

Each one is lovely. Each one brings sadness.

You see, the thing is, Bonnie is my last, my youngest. After she graduates tomorrow, this chapter of my life as a mother will be over.

No more getting up in the morning and sending a kid off to school.

No more PTA meetings, or PTO either.

No more school parties and functions.

It’s final. Finis.

So, after the Baccalaureate, when Bonnie and I had gone to town to eat a meal, we sat and talked. Enjoying each other's company. Neither of us said anything about it, but I’m sure she was thinking about it being the last dinner she ate with me as a “child”.

Just as I was thinking that this was the last Mother’s Day I’d have a "child" in the house.

Now I start my next adventure. Mom to TWO adult daughters. This could get interesting.