Totally Ready!

I took Cambel to his "Kindergarten Blast Off"at the school he will attend in the fall (the new term this year is "blast off" as opposed to "roundup". I guess they don't want the kids to feel like cattle. They want them to think of themselves as rockets... because that will really calm them down and help them get ready to sit in a classroom all day).
He was excited, and a little nervous about how it was going to go and I couldn't help feeling a little bittersweet about the constant changes in life. (Leave it to me to turn a kindergarten orientation into a melancholy discourse on life in general).
As we filed through the lines and participated in the activities, he had to stop at a table spell his name for one of the teachers. I tell you, I could have just laid down on the floor and cried (okay, maybe not on the floor, but it was an emotional moment). He is just so big and old and independent and he was being brave even though he was nervous, and he was so excited to be there. And I was really proud of him, and a little sad. Was it really that long ago that we brought him home from the hospital?  How on earth did we get here so fast? And how can I slow it down?
The nostalgia and sentimentality of the moment was completely lost on Cambel. As I pulled myself together the principal asked him if he was ready for kindergarten. His response?
TOTALLY ready!