The author reflects on the mixed emotions of sending her daughter to kindergarten, noting her initial anxiety and guilt over not enjoying the moments. The joyous experience was cut short due to the pandemic, leaving her to grapple with the abrupt end of her daughter's first school year. She expresses sorrow for all the missed milestones and ceremonies that came with finishing kindergarten, ultimately realizing how profoundly the pandemic affected this pivotal moment in her child’s life. The journey now comes full circle as these children transition to middle school, evoking deep sentiments of nostalgia and longing.
I was emotional about it from the very start, and spent all summer feeling anxious about how fast time was going.
I felt all of those things because I wanted her to stay in kindergarten...to finish out the year in her bright, happy classroom.
I grieved the lack of finality, the missing end-of-year party, all of the pomp and circumstance she deserved for finishing her first year.
And now those Covid kindergarteners are off to middle school. And it feels bigger than I ever could've imagined.
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