To my sweet boy after your first day of preschool…
What a fun day you had!
You were so brave, too. You haven’t been away from momma much… And other than a few close friends and family you definitely haven’t been around many other kids.
No daycares for you…
No big play groups or mommy and me classes…
Just family and some of our favorite friends.
I was so nervous for you as your day began, but I was confident in your sweet outgoing personality, and I knew you would make friends and settle in quickly.
I was so relieved when you came home with happy stories.
I was excited to hear all about how you sat next to a girl with a bear on her shirt and how you told her “hi!” …Even though she was a little shy.
You told me about your napkin that held your goldfish and the water you spilled on your shoe at snack time.
I saw the beautiful apple you colored. You did such a great job! I am so proud of how hard you worked to make it look so great!
It made my heart so glad to know that you were able to grow and learn and experience away from home. You explored and discovered and encountered the world in a whole new way…. All on your own!
It wasn’t until after dinner that you told me about what happened on the playground.
As you sat looking at your plate, I could tell you were thinking deeply about something…
So, I waited patiently at the kitchen sink for you to decide that you were ready to share your heart.
“Hey, momma. Those kids were being mean, weren’t they?”
“What kids, baby?”
“The kids who threw sand at me…”
…
There it was.
The one lesson that I couldn’t teach you at home, the one I desperately wanted to protect you from, and the one that is unavoidable…
Some people throw sand.
We had talked all summer about being the nice boy…about sharing and about not taking things that don’t belong to us. We talked about including others. I told you that other children would not want to play with you if you were a mean boy. You are so kind… I knew this wouldn’t be a problem.
But I didn’t warn you about the other kids…
About the kids that throw sand because it makes them happy… even if they think they are just being silly. Truthfully, I thought I had a few more years. I suppose it starts somewhere and sometimes it is the sandbox.
“How did that make you feel, bubba?”
“Disappointed.”
“What did you do? Did you throw sand back?”
“No, momma. We don’t throw sand. I just went and played somewhere else.”
My heart hurt for you. Yes. It is just preschool and it is just sand… But you are my sweet boy and I won’t always be there to stop kids from throwing it.
So here, on this first day of preschool, you have learned one of life’s hardest lessons…
There will always be mean kids and there will always be plenty of sand… And momma might not always be there to keep the two away from you.
BUT, just as sure as there will be hurtful kids, there will also be nice boys and girls to call friends.
Just as sure as there will be sand, there will be countless chances to show Gods love and kindness… Because God loves those kids just as much as He loves you!
This is why I sent you to school my sweet boy.
So you could be a little light even when it is scary…
So you could be kind even when others are not…
and so you could share the love of Christ with everyone you meet … Even if they throw sand.
It is a lesson that will take you through the rest of your life, little one. It is the lesson that I couldn’t teach you at home. So, brush off the sand and be His Light.
You are already making this momma proud!
