Growing Up

I started a new phase in Brennan's life and it just dawned on me that it is a sign of Brennan growing up.

Eating breakfast at school. You might wonder how eating breakfast, something he's done since he was born, helps him grow up, but read on and you will see...

Every child in Omaha gets free school breakfast and I had let Brennan eat a few times since school started, but not that often (just when they had waffles or biscuits, and then not every time). Then, in the past two or three weeks, it somehow morphed into him eating two or three times a week at school.

We have a routine, too. I stay in my pajama's (nice!), drive to school, and pull into the church parking lot across the street from Brennan's school. Brennan's seat is on the driver's side, so parking on the side of the road by the school would be dangerous because he'd be getting out into oncoming traffic, making me have to get dressed and open his door. Brennan gets out on his own, walks in front of my car, through the grass, and is at the "Safety Patrol" and the cross walk in about five seconds.

Today, as I watched him cross the street and wave goodbye to us, I realized that this routine has caused Brennan to grow up, even if just a little bit. He is responsible for his safety. Once he is out of the car, he must choose to follow the Safety Patrol and cross the street when safe. He must choose to walk to the cafeteria, not wander around. Granted, I wait in the parking lot to see him walk into the cafeteria (one entrance is located outside), but still, he ultimately has the choice.

I know he's been in school a little over 12 weeks now, where he has had to make many decisions on his own, but seeing him today struck a chord. Maybe it's because my hormones have decided to get a bit out of whack (end of pregnancy), maybe it's because the weather, family, economy, and world are changing so much so quickly, but today, I saw Brennan...BIG Boy...not Brennan, my Baby.

The last safety patrol image is included because I thought it was too funny. I imagine "duhn, duhn, duhn, dunnnnn!!!! Safety Patrol!" in my mind.