Growing Up

Arwin, my third-grader son, went on a Field Trip yesterday. It's an annual school activity, yet this year's trip was special to him. Why? Because for the past years he always had chaperone. When he was in pre-school, his grandma went with him. I accompanied him for the past two years. This time, he went alone, and he was happy and proud!

But not me. It took us a while to decide whether he join or not. He'd been asking me to let him go since December because all of his classmates are going. When I said, "ok", he told me that I should not go with him because he's a big boy now.

Yes he is. He's already nine years old, and quite a big one for his age. My hesitation of allowing him to join the trip without a chaperone comes from my fears of him misbehaving and giving his teachers a hard time. Arwin, unlike his other classmates, is so full of energy and sometimes, have a tendency to be out of control. I wrote about him a few months ago in this article,
Loving Unconditionally.

As I watched him carrying his two bags (filled with extra clothing, food and other field trip essentials) with so much excitement written all over his face, I can't help but feel nostalgic. How time flies! Not long ago he was just a two-year-old little boy when I decided to be a mother to him. Now, he is learning to be on his own.

Thankfully, the whole day passed and I did not receive any text messages from his teachers (as what I had expected). When he arrived home, the first thing he said was, "Mommy, I got this for you," and handed me a fish-shaped coin purse he bought as a souvenir. How thoughtful of him! He then went on with his stories of the places they've been to. Even if he looked tired, he was beaming with pride that he behaved well the whole day!

I went to bed last night thanking God for the teacher (who is also a friend) who volunteered to look after Arwin, for bringing him home safe, and for making me realize that my children are growing up - and they need me to be there for them in this stage of their lives. And before I drifted off to sleep, I made a mental note to let Arwin know how proud I am of him. I think I owe him that.