you say goodbye and i say hello

today was oskar's and abel's last day at their school. it was bittersweet, for sure. the boys vacillated between whining, "i don't want to go to the new school!" to exclaiming "i can't wait for the new school!" they drew pictures for their teachers and presented them with bows tied around. i almost cried when i saw what ozzy drew - a bright red smiley face in the middle (ms. leti) with four smaller orange faces (ms. janet, ms. mary, oskar and abel) around her. we brought yummy fruit salad for the class snack. and when i picked them up after nap, they said their goodbyes like troopers. ms. leti was teary-eyed. you could tell the boys were sad, too, but they held it together and delivered all the obligatory hugs and kisses. little men they are becoming.

it worked out perfectly that today was also the day to pick up their spring pictures. it was good closure for me. it was a year ago january that we started at this montessori. they were just shy of two and still babies in my eyes. they had words but were barely stringing them together. potty training seemed like an unreachable dream. drop-offs were hairy and pick-ups were even worse. now those little babies are full-fledged self confident little boys. they talk in stories, make up elaborate games, use the potty all by themselves, jump of boulders, have best friends and proudly proclaim they are twins.

if there was any lingering doubt about the DNA test we did last september (i can't tell you how many times jordan and i have contemplated doing the test again), there is none now. identical twins, indeed.


so tomorrow the boys start the transition to their new school. they'll say hello to their new teachers and their new classrooms and their soon-to-be friends. separate teachers. separate classrooms. separate friends. this will be the first time the boys will be apart from one another. just a few hours each day, but i don't want to underestimate how big a transition this might be. we'll also have the privilege of walking to school each morning, hiking a rocky trail and saying hello to our neighborhood goats and sheep on the way. matilda, our yellow lab, can join us. in days where the minutes count, i'll personally gain up to two hours eliminating our current commute. two hours a day!

i've dreamed about living in a way where we walk most everywhere, where the boys are surrounded by nature, where we can relish in lazy days. i've also dreamed about raising the boys in a way where we foster their individuality and sense of self. where they are able to find themselves but still honor the relationship they will always have with one another. we are getting closer and closer and it never felt so good.