Okay, I’m totally indulging in a little Mommy-gushing for this blog. I just refuse to believe that my little Skywalker (the new nickname I’m assigning him since the “Little Monkey” moniker I gave him early on in this blog now seems babyish and inappropriate) graduated from Pre-Kindergarten today. I remember kids ‘graduating’ from Pre-K in recent years, and thinking that this is one of those graduation rituals that is less about accomplishment and more about preparing kids and their parents for ‘real school’ to start.

Now that we’re here, though, and I look back to when Skywalker started the journey with this preschool at 14 months old, I realize that it really is a big deal. I know people have differing opinions about preschool/daycare during the early years, and I certainly struggled with it sometimes as I tried to find the balance that worked best for our family.

But this little school is where he learned his prayers, learned to make friends on his own, learned to sing and dance in front of a crowd, learned to spell and write his name and count to well over 100. I realize how much the teachers and staff and other parents have become family – more like an extension of our household than mere caretakers. We are fortunate to have this kind of environment for Skywalker and Fozzie, and I admit I have taken it for granted sometimes.

Now that we are preparing to brave the waters of public school, where Skywalker will be one excellent little fish in a very large pond; it seems important to notice all that he learned and became during these early years. I will always remember the day this past fall when (at barely four years old) he patiently corrected me in the car on the way home from school: “The sun isn’t going down, Mommy. The earth is turning away from the sun. It just looks like it’s going down.” Somewhere his physicist Granddad was smiling about that one.

For everything that he learned, Skywalker has taught me ten times more about myself – as a parent and a person. It hasn’t always been an easy journey, but I can’t imagine loving a single human being more and even though it may sound trite and run-of-the-mill, I could not be one tenth of an ounce prouder of this kid. He just… rocks. We’re heading for new teachers and new friends and a BIG cafeteria in the fall, with big-kid camp adventures (fishing, rock-climbing, archery!) in the meantime. I’m not one of those parents who wishes they would stay babies or toddlers forever. I’ve loved these ages, but frankly, for me the toddler years have been beyond exhausting. They require infinite patience, which is not exactly my strong suit. There’s sooo much fun ahead. I’m looking forward to watching them learn and grow and develop into really fantastic, independent human beings.

Whatever Skywalker sets his heart and mind to from here, you better believe I’ll be there, cheering him on and making him stand for awkward pictures.

MJ Pullen

M.J. Pullen is a distracted writer and the mom of two boys in Roswell, Georgia, where she is absolutely late for something important right now. Her books include quirky romantic comedies and playful women's fiction. She blogs erratically with writing advice, random observations, and reflections on raising very loud kids and dogs. Join her Distracted Readers newsletter list for updates, free content, giveaways and more.