A whole new year.

Grade 8 and Grade 4.  How did that happen?  

I think what makes the first day of school so bittersweet for me is that for every grade they progress, they get one year older.....

When my kids want to see me cry, they remind me that Sheldon will be graduating this year.  I've been preparing for it for a couple of years now so that by the time it actually happens I (hopefully) won't be a blubbering mess. 

Meanwhile, this year, they still willingly posed for front porch pictures and walked to the end of the street together.  Then, Sheldon, in his bubble of grade 8 coolness, had to walk ahead to maintain his reputation.  

And so begins a whole new year.