they graduate from pre-k...

i watched all these little children tumble into the auditorium. their eyes searching for a familiar face, a mommy, a daddy, a grandmother. searching for someone they love or someone that loves them.  i tried to enjoy the moment and reminisce on the time that felt like just yesterday - the day they were born.  i only know my story of labor and delivery but i tried to imagine others.  i tried to imagine which child was born to a mother on drugs or which child was born to no mother at all.  it pained me to see children in their innocence coming into a world that had very little left.  i watched their chubby cheeks, their fluffy dresses and their lopsided ties come down this aisle.  i wondered who would get their heart broken first, or get arrested or get caught skipping school.  i considered all of the bad things these good children would end up doing.  and then my humanity kicked in and my parenting stepped out.  i imagined that the little boy with the mohawk would become a heart surgeon and the little girl dancing down the aisle would become one of the world's leading entertainers.  i imagined the shy little girl selling out stadiums with the voice she was too shy to use now.  i imagined that these children would be the best leaders this world has to offer.  but in the meantime, i just want to enjoy them.  i want them to enjoy their tiny moments of shine.  i want them to eat broccoli with their hands and i want them to fight sleep till their little eyes shut.  i want them to enjoy being children.  they can always be great adults later.