Flying on Her Own

Ava started her first day of first grade today. I took our customary photos in front of the "big tree" in the front yard. Only after comparing them with last year's Kindergarten photos did I realize how much she has grown in a year (and how tan she is!)

I've been a little emotional today, of course. It isn't like it was last year when she started school for the first time ever. It's more subdued. But, there's still a sense of uneasiness that I know most parents must feel when their children become more and more independent. Will they be okay? Are they safe? Can they find their way?

I was puttering around the house unloading the groceries the boys and I picked up this morning when I noticed that today, of all days, a monarch butterfly we've been watching for a week on our kitchen counter had emerged from the cocoon. Why today on Ava's first day of school? I think as a reminder to me. And just in case I was extra dense, both Ava and the butterfly are "dressed" in orange today and (though you probably can't tell in the above photo) Ava's clothing is covered in butterfly designs.

She can find her way, she is safe in God's hands, and she will be okay.