Taking flight.

 Today was the first day of school, and in our house it was a big day...first day of junior high! Oh my, the stress this day has been causing. My daughter had the misfortune to inherit her mother's way of dealing with change: stressing about it. And she had been stressing about everything related to junior high.
 I'd been doing my best to reassure her that everything would be fine; high school wouldn't be as bad as she thought, that she would be fine. It wasn't working very well, and I was doing my best not to stress right along with her. I knew it wouldn't help her if she thought I was worried too.
I decided to take the day off work for her first day, just in case she needed me. I'd been doing the very same thing since she started kindergarten. The only difference would be that this year, I wouldn't be personally escorting her to school. (She matter of factly informed me a while ago that I had to do this, until she went to grade 7!)  Well, imagine the displeasure of both mother and daughter when we found out school wasn't opening until a day later than expected, and Mom isn't able to get another day off! She begged me to call in sick, but I couldn't do it with a clear conscience. I was peeved, but thought it was actually kind of fitting to the event. She would have to get herself ready and set off on the school bus by herself, as her Dad & I would already be gone to work before it was time for her to leave. She was embarking on a major milestone in her preteen life, with new responsibilities. Her first one would be making sure she didn't miss that bus. She didn't.
   I thought about her throughout the day, wondering and worrying about how her day was going. Half an hour before quitting time, she called me. "So, how was your day?" I asked. Pause. Then finally "It was AWESOME!" 
  So the hours of fretting and stressing were all for naught. Thank goodness. She can't wait for school tomorrow; it's the most excited I've seen her get about school since kindergarten!
  I think we're going to be just fine.