Mila and Eli pose for a picture before leaving for their first day of preschool.

This week has been a big week for my household as my 3-year-old twins, Mila and Eli, started preschool. I’m happy to report there were no tears the first two days from them or for me. Now that I’ve said that, I’ll probably jinks next week.

With this milestone has come the realization that my Mila and Eli are growing up too fast. It seems like just yesterday they were only little peanuts in an ultrasound picture. Now, they are heading off to school to make friends with people I don’t know…at least not yet!

I probably would have been more sentimental about the drop off on the first day of preschool had I not had the distraction of a one-year-old. My newly walking Siler kept me far too winded to focus my energy on the emotions of the day.

When it was time to pick up Mila and Eli, I was ready to hear a play-by-play of every moment of their first day. As part of an easing in preschool program, they were only in class 45 minutes that first day. I don’t know why I was expecting to hear so much. Eli told me he played with tractors, and Mila seemed more concerned about what we would be eating for lunch.

I wanted details! Then it hit me that this is the first time in their little lives that I won’t be privy to every detail of their day. Yes, the preschool provides a sheet with the activities for the week, but I will not know about every interaction and conversation they have at preschool. I’ll only know what they want to share with me or what their teachers tell me. That realization makes me a little sad, but I suppose that’s what growing up is all about. Preschool is the first stop on the road to independence and the first of many “letting go” moments. Who knew I’d be learning so much the first week of preschool?

Entering into the preschool world also has suddenly made me feel that there’s no denying that I’m an adult. You would think that giving birth to three children would have already made me feel this way, but there was something so surreal about attending my first school open house in the role of a parent.

Now I’m tied to a school calendar, even if it’s only two days a week. I’m responsible for signing permission slips, packing lunches and snacks and preparing to throw holiday parties for the class. Yikes! Am I really ready for all of this?

I’m sure we will all manage somehow. The longer I’m a parent the more I realize that parenthood is all about adjusting to change. Just when you think you have things all figured out, you learn it’s time to start a new stage.

Mila and Eli pose for a picture before leaving for their first day of preschool.

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