Dearest Lukey Bear,

Tomorrow, you embark on a very exciting journey of going off to preschool! It’s ironic and sweet that we have called you “Lukey Bear” almost since the day you were born and now you are a “teddy bear” at your first preschool! My heart just cried a little bit thinking about it…

I am not worried about you fitting in or missing us. We just had your first visit and you were confident and off on your own the second we walked in the door. You made a bee-line for the toy cars and dirt box and were off making your way around and investigating your new school home. But even if you do miss us, we left a bit of our hearts in cut-out hands you can touch whenever you want (mommy’s is the pink, daddy’s is the big teal one…they’re the same size because mommy apparently has man hands). Oh, and theres also an awkward picture of us on the “family board”…make sure to tell your friends how cool we are.

Oh I also made you that birthday crown you’ll wear (for 2 seconds) on your birthday (remember its January 17th) because you dislike crafts…but it’s fine. You do you boy.

I am so thrilled for you and all of the fun things you are going to get to do and learn. You are certain to give your teachers a run for their money with your never stopping motor mouth and very minimal attention span. But I think they’re going to like you. You’ll teach them all the fun things you know about cars and trucks and animals and they’ll teach you to share, stand in line, the days of the week, and hopefully get you perfectly potty trained by October…one can hope :).

Mommy is a mixed bag of emotions kid. Half of her is so happy and excited for you while the other half is fighting back the decision to say “SYKE MAYBE NEXT YEAR”…as you roll your eyes and sigh and pat me on the head and say “im fine mom, chill”.

I don’t know what I’m going to truly feel as I watch you walk into your new school and embark on the journey without me. Ok, I do…I’ll probably weep buckets as your dad shoves tissues in my face and yells “BYE BUDDY HAVE A GOOD DAY” and you’ll turn around like the little politician you are and say “BYE GUYS” like you normally do. But maybe I’ll just be happy and relaxed in knowing that you are so ready for this and that this is good, school is good, and Jesus is with you to help protect your heart and help you grow, our little teddy bear.

When you wake up tomorrow, you’ll be different. You’ll be a school kid and you’ll be a school kid until you graduate college or grad school or whichever you chose (NOTE: IT WILL BE ONE OF THEM). You’ll have new friends, you’ll have experiences I wasn’t there to witness, you’ll have new skills and memories and stories to tell us around the dinner table 100 times. We can’t wait to hear them, please be as specific as possible so I can paint the picture in my head and share in the moment with you and when you say “Remember when I…” I can truly say I remember.

Have fun buddy, be nice, share, and listen to your teachers best you can.

We’re so proud of you!

Love,

Mommy and “Big Guy” Daddy

p.s. pee in the potty please.