Smiles and Frowns

"Dad guess what? Next Wednesday I get to walk to school all by myself!" James juts out his chest and beams.

"Wow. Did you want me to come and walk with you?"

His incredulous look says it all. I smile outside and frown inside. My little one is growing up. I'm glad he'll have memories of walking to school. I can faintly recall the feeling of freedom that walking to and from school brought.

When I attended school only when we were late did we get a chauffeured ride. Accompanied by an admonishment about snoozing the alarm.

Today school drop off resembles traffic on the highway. Buses, vans, and cars all driving up and dropping off.

"I'm going to walk with Ezekiel. I like walking with him cause we can talk."

Friendship at it's simplest. Talking about everything and nothing. The art of conversation between 2 people. Some say the art is getting rarer to experience. Again I smile and frown.

Last drop off, as we got closer to school James stopped holding my hand once he spotted a friend. Another time, I was told "Dad you don't need to walk me the whole way."

Time marches on. I comfort myself in the knowledge that James has shared some school experiences with me. I smile and frown.

Forgive me, I have an urge to call my mom.