Feeling emotional.

My second to youngest baby started preschool today.

I've never been one of those mothers who gets emotional when her kids go to school. Usually, I am the one mom in the parking lot that is giving other women high-fives and doing a touchdown dance. Not that I don't love my children...because I certainly do. I love them more than life itself. I adore my children. They are my reason for living....mainly because they'll starve if I don't keep waking up and feeding them, so I have to keep chugging away at this mortal coil until they learn how to use the microwave at least. ;)

But, I digress...today I was totally tearing up when I dropped off psychopath #2 at preschool. For starters, his backpack was 2/3 the size of his body, and his hair was all slicked over like McFly. It was adorable in a wonderfully dork way. Plus, the fact that he is obsessed with Buzz Lightyear doesn't help...buzz shirt, buzz bakcpack, buzz underwears, buzz shoes......the cuteness factor was on HIGH today.

Anyway, I surprised myself by tearing up. It all started when I was walking him in and asked him if I could hold his hand, and he said no. He is three. And he said no. To me. His mother. He said no to my holding his hand. *Sigh* It's only going to get worse from here, and I am painfully aware of it. (My oldest, who is 11, has forced me to tell him that I love him at his school in code. I say, "Take out the garbage, kid." and then he responds with "Stop nagging me, Mom." This is our version of "I love you" and "I love you, too.") And now my relationship with my three year old has been reduced to a glorified chauffer. Good times.

Now, before I go any further, it is imperative to know one of my catch phrases. (Yes, I have a few.) One of the said catch phrases that I use on a regular basis is: "Peace out." I say it all the time. When I am leaving, when I am hanging up the phone, when I am putting my kids to bed, when I am blowing someone off...whatever. Peace out! It says it all. I even put it in the Ominous Secret series, as Dillon's catch phrase. (It was my stealth way of making Dillon a bit like me.....which is nearly an impossibility considering the fact that Dillon Murphy is quite extraordinarily beautiful, and I am...well, not.)

So as my 3 year old is walking away from me at his preschool...he turns to me, and calls over his shoulder, "Okay, Mommy. Peace out!"

And then my heart did a little dance inside my chest, making me think (if only for a second) that I was having a heart attack. I wasn't, in case you were worried. I was just suffering from separation anxiety. From the 3 year old who is trying to kill me on a daily basis....(I'm not joking....I will share the "screw in the straw" story soon.) I've officially lost my mind.

I think I need to write more stories centered around mothers. Mothers like romance, too. (Sometimes)

Brooke Moss.