"Level with your child by being honest. Nobody spots a phony quicker than a child." ~ Mary MacCracken

It came in the mail today....the "Back to School Night" reminder...Again, I hoped for this day and still, as excited as I am for Raleigh, I dread this day....By mid-August my child will no longer be my little Monkey running around, she will be my big Monkey walking off with back pack in hand to a world she's unfamiliar with...a world that she will spend the next several years in...Maybe my biggest fear is how much I hated school and how cruel kids were ten plus years ago...In my line of work, I get to see just how much more cruel kids are today...oh the fear!  The fear that it could be my kid getting bullied, or even being the bully...I pray for neither and though the title quote says to be honest, this year the honesty of my excitement will shine through, but the honesty of my fears will stay hidden.  This is not the time to show my child my fears for her, she's too excited about becoming a "big girl getting to carry her big girl back pack."  I know I'm not the only mom out there, and mom's with kids in school will tell me it will be okay...I'm sure it will, but I can't help but want to draw closer to her keeping her mommy's little girl for the next 15 days and thereafter when I can get away with it.  So from today until the 17th, we are going to swim, ride bikes, play at the park, feed the ducks, watch Tangled, color pictures, play mom and sister or mom and babysitter and without her even knowing I'm going to be soaking all of it in because before long we'll be doing homework together, going to sporting events, dances, etc.  She'll always be mommy's little monkey regardless of her age and school status, but I'm no fool...the older she gets the less she will want everyone to know that...even if she loves me to the moon and back and then some!