Senioritis!--4 days and counting...

We're down to the wire folks. The end is near! There is a light at the end of the tunnel and it is NOT a train!
This is Nana's last week of high school!! Woohoo! I don't think--no, I KNOW she has little idea how significant this! It seems like a blur of activity--those last few days of getting assignments in, finals, goodbyes, graduation stuff--it all melds together and then--it's over. A sigh of relief is expelled and then, life gets really really interesting!
But she isn't on this end. This Mothering end. I've been here before. And truth be told, I'm a little choked-up over it. I'm not one of those moms who want their kids to stay at home thru college. Nope, I am definitely one that kicks them outta the nest and onto something else...but still.
Loosening the apron strings stings a little. Just a little.

Last Friday, I sat at the pc with her for 5 hours while she put together a wonderful slide show of her Life in her words for an english class. She had put a significant number of days and hours into the assignment. I hope she lets me put it on here. I thought she did a great job...but when we played it back, the music was missing on the CD. The musis was an integral part of the presentation. We ran over to her school's tech department, and they couldn't find it either. She had to turn it in that day. In that hour.
Had to. She had enjoyed the project, so alot of time went into it--but then there was no music.
Eyes brimmed with tears at the dissapointment as she left it on her favorite teacher's desk.
As we left, I said, "You know, you're thinking that everyone else's project is perfect. Now think about that. How many classmates do you think really enjoyed this project as much as you did? How many of them are going to have a perfect presentation? Not 100% of them are going to get 100% on this... If I were you, I would go home, make another CD, make sure the music is on there, and tell the teacher that you wanted her to have a corrected CD because you enjoyed this so much...because SHE means alot to you. And it doesn't matter if it doesn't change your grade. And one more thing, don't let this ruin your weekend. The truth is, as upset as you are right now, you won't even remember this day next year."

Because the truth is, we all do alot of comparing of ourselves to others and assume that everyone else's BEST beats our own. And that simply isn't true in all things. But we think it, and we beat ourselves up over it. What a waste of time.

So as soon as she came home from school yesterday, I asked her what the teacher said..."Oh, mine was better than ALOT of others. No big deal." And just like that, her crisis was over with.

And she won't remember those tense moments when she discovered the music was lost on a high school project. Because Life is about to get alot more interesting than high school ever was. And if you think about it, sometimes we can work really hard on something and in the end, the "music" really is missing, or gets lost or chewed up, spit-up, stomped on and while it may not end up like we'd hoped, the "project" was still worthwhile.

SO my #4 is about to leave the nest. I'm anxious to see where she directs her own path. I am her greatest cheerleader. And my nest will never be the same. She takes a little part of my heart with her. Boy, am I a boob or what?! {straighten up woman!}

Four more days. That's not very long. It'll be over before we know it.