To my son on his last day of nursery

To my Darling Boy –

Today I picked you up from your nursery for the last time (or Kita, as we call it here). For the past four years and eight months you have been going there almost every day, apart from vacation times. On some days, you would be waiting by the door, sad that you were the last to be picked up. On others, you would complain if I picked you up too early, because you still wanted to play some more with your friends. Mums just can’t win. You have grown from a little toddler, who could barely walk, to a big, confident pre-schooler who can not only walk, but run, jump and climb, with plenty of skint knees to show for it. You have gone from being able to say only a handful of words, to speaking two languages fluently. You know your alphabet and you can count to one hundred. You enjoying watching science videos on Youtube, studying books about dinosaurs, and taking things apart to see how they work. I think you’re gonna love school!

When you first started in your nursery group, you were the youngest and the smallest. Everyone treated you like a little doll. But that didn’t last long – you still have a pretty doll face (oh, all those hearts waiting to be broken), and your nursery friends still fawn over you, but you’ve become a headstrong, feisty fellow who knows how to assert himself. With your shoulder length hair, your love of pink, and your habit of wearing shirts and bow ties on a regular nursery day where others turn up in jeans and T-shirts, you stand apart from the crowd. But you are confident and proud of who you are, and your friends accept you as you are too, bow ties, pink and all. Because that’s the Oskar they know and love. And I pray to God that when you start school after the summer, you will find new friends who are just as loving and accepting, and that you never lose that confidence in yourself. Because I’m not gonna lie, school can be tough. There may be kids who try to pick on you for being different. But just ignore them. I know you have the strength inside you. Being the same as everyone else is boring anyway. And if you do have some rough days, then remember, I am here for you.

When I ask your nursery teachers about you, they tell me about a happy, compassionate little boy, who wears his heart on his sleeve. The kind of boy who takes time, while everyone else is playing, to sit with the new kid that doesn’t speak any German and look at picture books with her, patiently pointing out what all the things are called. The kind of boy who’d rather be larking around with his friends, but takes the time to play with the special needs kid when no one else will. The kind of boy who has always been so willing to share, from hist first day, whether it’s his toys or his snacks. And with plenty of smiles and hugs to share too. They tell me they will miss those smiles and hugs. I’m a lucky lady, because I get to have them all the time.

Enjoy your summer, because after the summer, life will be different. No better, no worse, just different. The next phase of your life. Another milestone reached. Your days will be longer and start earlier. You won’t be able to stay home on a whim, just because you feel like it or because Oma and Opa are visiting. You’ll have to sit still a lot more – something I know you struggle with – but don’t worry, there will still be lots of time to play too. Some kids hate going to school, but that’s just silly, because you’re gonna learn so many great things there. Like how to read books. That’s something I know you are looking forward to. So, are you ready for your next big adventure?

Lots of love, Mummy xx