Life: what happens when you're busy making other plans

(... to hash a John Lennon lyric.)

Two milestones this week.

Yesterday was the last time my daughter and I had the whole day to hang out with each other, just her and me.

Yesterday, after I picked her up from her second to last day of kindergarten, we chatted over cheese sandwiches about the merits of fingerpainting versus painting with toes, painted our fingernails a glittery shade of plum and chopped up vegetables for the evening meal of pumpkin and potato soup. It was a lovely afternoon; I'm glad we had it, for Miss Four can be one Mighty Handful and it was great that our last free afternoon together did not entail any time-outs and revocation of DVD privileges!

Then today; her last day of kindergarten, ever, marked by a five minute graduation ceremony (apple cup cakes and a farewell song) and photos. Then we managed to kidnap her dad away from his work for a celebratory lunch.

And that's it. My sons are home now for school holidays, and then, come July 23, she'll be heading off to school with them. I'm kinda gobsmacked at how quickly this has come about. It seems like just yesterday she was born.

I've been dying for her to get to this point for about a year now (this is one child who is SO ready for school and all it's busyness, it's not funny), but now that it's here ... hmm. I admit I had a tear in my eye today; which rapidly dried when I reminded myself the alternative was for her to stay home with me forever (lunatic asylum, here I come!)

My kids aren't the only one getting older, though; so are my parents.

Today, my dad was taken to hospital by ambulance after suffering chest pains and generally feeling awful. He's in hospital overnight for observation. Hopefully it's just a side effect of the mountain of medication he takes to deal with the triple by-pass he had eight and a half years ago. But, as he said, there's also a chance that once again, his heart plumbing is shot, which means another bout of open heart surgery, pronto.

And life goes on ...