Bye Bye Butterfly

I wish I was enough a of a poet to make Fletcher’s first day of school today and the release of our butterfly yesterday into a beautiful metaphor but I’m not so I guess you just had to be here.  Yesterday, our second chrysalis (the first one seems frozen in time) turned black and hours later a gorgeous butterfly emerged.  The five us were immersed in the age old battle of mom’s need to commemorate the last day of summer and kids’ desire to stay in pjs and play video games.  I was losing until the butterfly.  It was exactly what I needed to mark the end of summer. (Yep, I said I, they are not even half as thrilled by the whole metamorphosis thing as I am.)  Our summer departed just like the lovely Madame Sally T-Rex Booty Badah.

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Today, Fletcher woke, dressed himself, ate, and brushed his teeth without any prompting from his parents.  Then like our butterfly we had to let him go.  (I did manage a simile but no metaphor). He jumped on the bus without a look backwards.  Today, I came across this letter, I love it and will be sharing it or some version of this message with him before his second day of school, For Adam. Better late than never.  Last year, we started each day by saying “Kind Heart, Fierce Mind, Brave Spirit” this year I may go with “just be kind and brave.”  Either way I hope Fletcher understands that when we send him off to school everyday it’s not to become the best at anything or to prove anything to us or anyone else, it’s to be his bravest, kindest self.