Middle School Locker - First Steps

School starts next week, which means my oldest daughter starts middle school. Today we went shopping as a family for "locker stuff", which included a shelf for books, a mirror, a small dry erase pad and some other assorted very girly looking magnets and doo-dads. Then it was off to the school so she could try her locker again and put everything in it the way she wanted. It was a short outing, but she was excited, and happy that she now has a locker that looks like Paris Hilton lives there. Mission accomplished.

Her locker measures only 14" x 14" x 36". It's barely 3 cubic feet of space, but for the next 10 months it's her little outpost away from home. Actually, it's her very first outpost away from home, and frankly, I'm not happy about it for good reason.

Middle school lockers turn into high school lockers - larger outposts away from home. Then comes a car, another volume of space not under my roof that she'll call her own. From there it's very short hop to dorm rooms - even larger outposts away from home. They keep getting bigger, and the time spent in them increases.

I figure you can see where this is headed by now.  Sad, yes, but also a reminder that there's lots of "daddy stuff" to take care of as the days pass.  There are so many lessons to be passed along, so many experiences to share, and so many memories to be made. This sort of thing reminds me that we're always painfully short on time, but motivates me to be the best parent I can be. If that means letting them roller skate in the dining room on the new hardwood floors, then so be it.  Sometimes it will mean making someone do homework that they just dont want to do. At some point it will mean getting involved in boyfriend issues, and likely and being the meanest dad in the word.  So be that too, I guess.  Regardless of what lies ahead, instead of being sad I'm going to be happy for what I've had up to this point and for all that lies ahead.

However, one day, the inevitable will happen, and "home" will no longer be where I live.  The swingset will have long been forgotten, the pool won't get used much any more, and we'll have to find a new use for all the suddenly "extra" space in the house.  Life will get quieter.

There will be no more outposts.

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Questions For Daddy

About 5 minutes ago, my 9 year old daughter walked in to see me.

"Daddy, is today the 11th?"

"Yes Pumpkin, today is the 11th."

There is a giant calendar hanging in our kitchen. Both of my girls have calendars hanging by their desks. Both also have several date books and planners obtained from various sources. Finally, they both have iPods that happily display the date and time. Nonetheless, the preferred source for vital information like today's date is Daddy.

As my daughter was walking away, I thought for a second about reminding her of how many tools she has at her fingertips to find today's date. After all, part of my job is to teach my little princesses to be self-sufficient and resourceful. I have to help them become capable adults. Surely I should teach her that she doesn't need me to tell her the date!

Then it dawned on me that one day she'll stop asking me questions like that. At some point she won't need Daddy to confirm the date, or spell a word, or help her change the battery in a toy. At some other point she'll understand that Daddy doesn't have every answer. She might even figure out that sometimes Daddy doesn't even understand the question.

I paused for a second, then held my tongue and let her walk away in silence.


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