Last night was a time for the principal to give a general welcome and introduction to the school for the parents, as well as all the department heads to get up and explain the various course paths and educational opportunities at the school. Next week, Olivia and I will return for a course selection workshop with her assigned guidance counselor. This is all designed to help make the online registration process more smooth.
As I sat there in the gym, along with 500 other parents, I had what I like to call a "Freaky Friday" moment. For a brief moment, I had this feeling like I had somehow switched bodies with my mom . . . that I was a teenager trapped inside a mom's body, and that I was the one who should be figurin gout which math class was right for me or which electives I wanted to take! I glanced around the room, wondering if I was the only parent who was feeling this way. I was almost waiting for a bolt of lightening or earthquake or something to really shake things up. It was so strange, there's really no logical way to say it!
I've said over and over in the last few years that I just don't feel like how I thought I would feel at this age. And as I sat there in the gym listening to all the amazing opportunities that lie ahead for Olivia over the next 4 years, I just wished that I could go back and do it over again. High school was not a good time in my life, and I did not even come close to making the most of those 4 years of my life. I know that those years—and the subsequent ones that followed—have played a big part in shaping me into who I am today, and I am truly happy with how my life has unfolded. But I still can't help but think about what could have been.
I'm excited for Olivia. She is a confident, bright, driven, and fun young woman, and has all the tools to be successful in high school. I have every confidence that she will make the most of these next four years and will come out of it ready to take on the world.
The real question here is when will I wake up and feel old enough to be her mom???!!!
