School leavers and sadness

[MyGhastIsFlabbered]

Anyone else feeling very emotional as they sent their child off for their last exam/prom? Eldest DS has just finished and I just feel so emotional but I can’t explain why. I think it’s multi factorial but I’d love some solidarity while I process this.

My ds finished 6th form yesterday.

I've done every school run for 14 years, dropping him at the bus stop (4 miles away) for the last 7.

Suddenly I don't need to get up at sparrowsfart and haul him out of bed. No more toast crumbs in my car. I just need to drop him at uni in September and leave him to it. It feels very odd.

Not really sure what I'm feeling at the mo. My youngest had his prom last night, and it is the end of an era. I didn't get to see him go in (because I dropped him at his friends earlier) so I was a bit sad about that, but I have seen photos.

No more school uniform. No more taxi-ing to and from the train station. etc
But he will be going to 6th form so its not quite the end.

My babies are young men and I'm not quite sure how we got here because whilst its been a long slog, it also feels like it was gone in the blink of an eye.

I was ok with this, but I hate to break it to you all - I got really sad at the beginning of September when I realised that for the first time in 25 years I had no one to buy a pencil case and back to school stuff for...

Obviously grateful for not having to kit them all out in uniform. But by the time my youngest left I'd had about quarter of a century of buying unicorn pencil cases and lovely stationery items.😁

DD just finished 6th form too and it feels odd.

I still have a 13 year old so a few years of pencil
case buying left!

I had a cry yesterday when I packed up dds alevel revision notes. I cried ahain when I waved her off to go Grerk island hopping with her friends a day later.
No doubt I will cry when she turns 18 next week...( i wont see her as she will be having an amazing time on holiday.
I am bereft!

But it is lovely to see them become amazing adults and at least i will get a bit of head space for a few weeks.