Wordless Wednesday

Sigh... And suddenly everything is ok... Breathe it in.
Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network.
Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.

Starting another motherly chapter...

Two more sleeps.
Two more sleeps, Mamaidh!

In just two more sleeps, my daughter will be going to school for her grade primary orientation day. Wow! Can we just stop time for a while, please?!?!

I've been giving the whole "first year at school" thing an awful lot of thought lately... but not just because my little girl will be starting school.... more so because I'm a teacher.  And... I'll be teaching my own daughter for a half hour each day come the fall.

My inner debate surrounds which hat will I be wearing in the classroom with my own flesh and blood in front of me? Teacher hat? Parent hat? Do I choose? Do I have to choose?

Not only does this scenario have me reflecting upon my own teaching, but it really has me analyzing, surmising, scrutinizing the teaching other teachers do. And parents, too.

• Do I want my daughter to be experiencing such-and-such with Ms. So&So?
• How will she get along in Mr.A&B's class? What if she doesn't?
• What if a teacher... my co-worker/colleague... treats her unfairly?

These are the questions I have with her preparing to start her school journey, and I know all the stakeholders involved. I know the processes. I know the school, the parents, the students, their backgrounds... every single one of them!

I can only imagine what it must be like for mother's to send their children to larger schools where they don't know those people who are going to shape their children's futures. Wow. I'd be a wreck!
(And as it is, I'm already hyper analyzing all aspects of my teaching, decorum, etc!)

And, so... I guess, another chapter begins... whether I like it or not.
I'm sure you can imagine there will be more posts about this in the fall!

Of all the things I am...

I am...

a daughter
a big sister
a wife
a teacher
a friend
a piano player
a shopper
a make-up addict
a beer lover
a tweeter
a researcher
an organizer
a stepdancer
a professional development geek
a red wine drinker
a hockey fan
an easy going, fun loving girl


but before any of those I am something special...

I am a mother.

Those people I mentioned above are now smaller parts of me; pieces of me that have taken a backseat.
For now, I hold the most important occupation, passion, love:

I am a mother.

There is no greater love.
No greater responsibility.
No greater challenge.

But it's part of me I'd never change; never look back upon with regrets; never complain about; never expect anyone else to understand, because no one can ever be a mom to my two children like I am.

Tomorrow is Mother's Day.

I am so proud to be a mom, so humbled, that even writing that brings tears to my eyes and a slight lump in my throat. While tomorrow will undoubtedly bring gifts, I'm afraid I've already received the greatest gifts of all.

Happy Mother's Day!