The End of a School Year

We're finally reaching the end of this school year. I'm most excited to be done with Brynne's preschool, which was really just Brynne along with two other neighbor girls. The three of them have a had a great year, but it's been a tough time for me. I was worn out by the end of the year and was trying to figure out how moms could regularly handle doing the whole neighborhood thing (where everyone takes turns teaching). Denise was kind enough to point out that I'm probably exhausted because with only three moms, I had tons of turns to teach. Most neighborhood preschools have more kids so the moms don't have to teach as often. Thanks, Denise. I feel much better now! A few weeks ago, we went on a preschool field trip to Thanksgiving Point. They have a little farm place where you see various farm animals, find out how milk is made, and have a chance to ride a pony. Above is Lillian, Brynne, and Emma (the three preschool girls). I'm really grateful to have such good, nice friends for Brynne.

Below is a picture of Brynne riding on a pony at the farm. She got to ride twice. The first time she picked the biggest pony (which was pretty much the size of a full grown horse). The second time she picked the only pony that hadn't been ridden by anyone the first time -- she had a kind heart and felt bad for it. What a sweet kid!
Morgan recently had her end of year 1st grade production. I'm still trying to figure out how I have a kid who is old enough to complete 1st grade. It makes me feel old. Below is a picture of Morgan with one of her teachers, Mrs. Peterson. I really hope I get a picture of her with her other teacher, Miss Berger. Her teachers have been so wonderful with her! Unfortunately (I think), she inherited a lot of my personality and tends to have a hard time staying on task, but her teachers have really done a lot to help her individually. I hope we are just as lucky with next year's teacher!
Back to the whole problem of me feeling old. I think the real problem is that I AM old. There are plenty of people in their 20s with kids the ages of mine (and I'm in my mid 30s), but I was a bit older when I started the whole family thing; hence, I'm old!!! And having a husband who has been gone a lot lately hasn't helped. I seriously feel like I should be retiring any day now. (sigh...)

My friend Jen Hoisington recently wrote something funny on her blog about getting old. Hopefully she won't mind if I copy it over for you to read. (I should mention that Ethan is her five-year-old son.) Here's what she wrote:

The other day, in discussing growing up, Ethan pointed out that

“Mom, you must be old.”
“Why yes I am, how can you tell?”
“Well, you’re bottom is really big, so that means you’re old.”
Really?