Sweet Sight

Since Elisa is teaching an 8:00 AM class at Pepperdine this summer, the responsibility to get Sara Sue to school has shifted to me for these last few weeks. School starts at 8:00 AM for her, but I take her at around 7:45 so I can get to work by 9:00 or so. Usually she has one or two friends already at school when we get there, so she just starts playing with them after we put her backpack away and submit her lunch money in the proper place.

This morning when we arrived it was her little friend Audrey (all the girls in their class are little compared to Sara Sue) who was there when we arrived, so I kissed Sara Sue goodbye and left the schoolyard. However, once I got on the sidewalk and looked back, Audrey was nowhere to be seen, and Sara Sue was all alone, just sitting on a bench by herself. I felt bad that I needed to leave, and even considered going back just to keep her company, but then I figured that it would be a good developmental exercise for her to figure out how to just hang out by herself and just be OK with it. So I went back to my car and watched her from a distance sit there quietly and look around and watch other kids (the pre-school kids) playing. She didn't seem sad or upset, so I was pleased she was just waiting patiently and being content with it.

Eventually, though, Audrey finally reappeared after a couple of minutes. She immediately scooted over to sit next to Sara Sue, linked arms with her, and put her head on Sara Sue's shoulder. For some reason that really struck me. It was quite sweet, of course, but it was more than that. It was as if Sara Sue was her big sister or something. And I quickly came to the conclusion that if Sara Sue was perceived to be a big sister figure to her friends, that is a terrific and commendable trait for her to have, and gives me yet another reason to be so very proud of her. On one hand it breaks my heart to see her grow up, but it is also the most fulfilling part of being a parent.