The Most Wonderful Time of the Year?

In a few short days my son will be heading back to school. I look upon this time with both trepidation and sadness. Sadness you may ask! Yes, sadness. I'm not sad my son is starting school, what makes me so sad is that he is another year older and he is not my baby anymore and I am unable to protect him like I used to. Once my son closes the door to my car and walks up that school driveway and enters through those doors, he is on his own. Well, for eight hours anyway. Sure, there are educators to make sure he listens and learns and follows the rules. But what if someone was mean to him at recess? What if he had no one to sit with at lunch? What will he do? What would I do? I can tell you what I would do and what I would want to do would be two totally different things entirely. My instinct as a mom is to protect my son. However my job as a mom is to teach my son right from wrong, teach him the ability to foster meaningful relationships with his peers and to instill in him an unwavering confidence.
As he begins yet another year my aptitude as a parent will be put to the test. Will I excel or will I blunder?Nobody knows. What I do know is that my son is growing up and he is growing up fast - much faster than I hoped. No longer is he dependant on me for everything. He gets his own breakfast but sometimes he does let me help because every so often even buttering toast needs a moms touch. He definitely won't let me near his video games, I guess I'm simply not cool enough. But when he is sleepy and his eyes are heavy there is a moment reminiscent of the past when he calls to me and asks, "Mommy can you tuck me in?" And of course I jump at the chance. And it always ends the same way - I tuck him in and kiss him goodnight and tell him I love him and as I walk out of the room and dim the light, I blissfully think to myself, "He'll always be my baby."