My beautiful Shay is leaving home, all grown up and starting her life.
Living just 2 houses away from my niece, for all but 3 years of her life, has allowed me the luxury of watching her grow from a stubborn willful little girl to the independent, smart and beautiful young woman she is today.
I thought watching her leave for her 1st day of Kindergarten, in her pink sailor dress, was tough. How can she be in Kindergarten already? How would she understand how to get her own lunch? Would she be scared and lonely for her parents? I sobbed the entire way to work and once there, my dear friend Tammy handed me a poem that she thought was fitting for the day..."The Little Red Shoes". For those of you struggling with the emotions of watching your little one off to that first day of Kindergarten, DON'T READ THAT POEM.....I cried so hard I could not breathe!
That was nothing compared to her first day of Junior High when she took the bus the unbelievable long distance (2 miles) to school. Guess who was there to watch her get on that bus safely?? Guess who was driving behind that bus as it carried my precious girl off to that first day?? Guess who left work by 3:00 that same day to be sure she got on the right bus?? Guess who made sure that the bus driver knew he had precious cargo in there and that I was right behind that bus watching his every move??
Then came HS, by this point, Shay was really coming into her own (believe me, the strong will and stubbornness come in very handy at about that point) so while this was tough, I knew if anyone could handle HS, it was my girl Shay! How could I not know that 4 years of HS flies by and that graduation would come so quickly? Guess who cried watching her get her diploma and said "this is going way too fast"?? I did the traditional HS graduation video montage of her life put it to music that would make a truck driver sob! I still watch that video and cry each and every time.
When Shay drove off to start her college life, I worried about the drinking and all that comes with it. I worried that she was away from her loving parents who made sure she came home safely each night. I worried that I wouldn't be there as parental back up to make sure she came home safely each night. I worried that boys would take advantage of this gorgeous girl. Did I mention how much I worry?? I gave her the lectures and tried to convince myself Shay would never do any of that college life stuff. All the while, secretly hoping she would get to experience a little of that side of college life. Her first week of college, I sobbed and just prayed that she would be safe.
None of this holds a candle to the sobbing that went on this morning when I hugged my girl goodbye. Shay is moving to Atlanta today to start her new job with AT&T, which we like to call "Shay T&T". You see, Shay is not just beautiful and smart, she is very driven and hard working. This all paid off and she got a great offer from AT&T.
Don't get me wrong, I am very happy for Shay and beyond proud of her. I just can't get over the fact that she may never live at home again. This will be the first time in her near 23 years that she will be more than an hour away from home, her loving parents and from me.
Shay, your Aunt Dede loves you so much and wishes you the best of luck in Atlanta. This is the beginning of many good things to come your way. You will always be my girl!
Oh, I'll bet you can't guess who's got tears running down her cheeks as she types this??
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