This Is What A Third-Grader Looks Like:

At least, this is what our third-grader looks like. Only to me, she still doesn't look like a third-grader. For some reason, I'm really feeling like crying this morning! When did she get so big and third-grader-y? I tell her quite often that she used to be a tiny baby. And I'll tell you, it really wasn't that long ago. Eight years may seem like a long time in some respects, but when I look at my little third-grader, it seems like the blink of an eye.

Chicken Nugget appeared in my bedroom doorway this morning and announced: "Get up! It's time to get ready for school!" (Now, I do not expect these early-morning announcements to continue.) She dressed herself and popped out of her room, asking, "Well, how do I look?" with that sweet smile of hers.

I told her that she looked great! But inside my heart was breaking. Just like it is now.

She told me she'd feel a lot better if I walked her over to school and helped her get to her place in the gym. Before third grade, she just went to her classroom. But waiting in the gym is a whole new situation. I was happy to help her out, so we walked over to the school and found her teacher. We scouted out the line in which she was to wait until the bell rang. Chicken Nugget sat down quietly, cross-legged, all third-grader-looking, and she put on that same sweet smile. I could tell she was excited, anxious, a bit uncertain, but also ready. I waved to her, and she waved back, and there wasn't much fanfare; she just sat there, waiting to begin her first day as a third-grader, ready for mom to depart the building.

So I left, and now I'm here at home, working on chores, taking care of the little ones, trying to choke down the fact that the little girl who came into the world, all of 6 pounds and 11 and 3/4 ounces, is now a big ol' third-grader. And I'm afraid time's not going to slow down much from here on out.