Five Years Later
Sara sat quietly on a chair in the kitchen.
She, Gil and Liz had moved into Gil's townhouse when Liz had only been two. She still wasn't used to calling their home, but she was getting better.
The apartment had proved hard for all three of them to live in.
Sara didn't know why, but she figured that once Liz had starting walking, things got confined.
She loved living in the townhouse. It was huge; So big that during their first week of living there she got lost several times.
Taking a sip of her milk, she remembered that today was a very important day in Liz's life.
She jumped out of the chair and rushed to the bottom of the stairs, tripping over various toys and books along the way.
"Liz! Honey, time to get ready for school!" She shouted.
Usually she went upstairs and woke Liz up without the yelling.
But today she had a lot to do.
Picking the books up and stacking them neatly on the coffee table, she noticed a drawing lying on the couch.
She picked it up and looked at it. A man and a woman were drawn side by side, the man with a beard and the woman holding a book loosely in her left hand.
Sara realized the couple was herself and Gil.
She noticed some small print in the corner; It took her a moment to figure out what it said.
It read, "To Mommy and Daddy."
Tears stung Sara's eyes; Liz had colored it.
Liz had always been a very intelligent child. She began walking and talking at nine months.
When she was two she could very clearly write her name; Not something many children can accomplish.
Sara was often shocked at how smart Liz was. But whenever she told Gil that, he would simply reply, "She gets that from you."
The years had flown by.
It seemed like Liz when from bottles to Barbies in a matter of minutes.
"Mommy?" A small voice asked from behind Sara.
She spun around and saw Liz standing at the bottom of the stairs.
"Hi sweetie! Did you sleep good?"
Sara walked over to her daughter and picked her up, giving her an enormous hug.
"Uh-huh. Today's the day?" Liz rubbed sleepily at her brown eyes.
Sara laughed nervously, still hugging Liz.
"Yes. My baby's going to school," She mock-sobbed.
"Mommy! Don't cry! I'm coming back. Right? I get to come home?"
Sara nodded.
"Yes you get to come home. I thought I explained this. Oh well, once more won't hurt. I'm going to drop you off and pick you up when school is done."
She set Liz back down on the hardwood floor.
"Go get dressed."
The small girl smiled at her mother then took off up the stairs, her brown shoulder-length hair bouncing as she went.
Sara walked back to the kitchen and fixed each of them a bowl of cereal.
She couldn't believe today was Liz's first day at school. She had prepared for this day for months and it still hit her like a punch.
"Mommy? Do I have to go?" Liz shouted down from upstairs.
Sara wanted to reply, "No you don't. You can stay here with me," But she knew that wouldn't be right.
"Yes you do, sweetie. You'll meet other kids and make some friends. It'll be fun!" She replied.
She absentmindedly took a few bites of her cereal and a moment later, Liz arrived in the kitchen.
"Mommy, do I look okay?" She asked.
"Of course you do! That shirt looks awesome. Come on, eat your breakfast so I can take to you school."
Liz joined her mother at the table but instead of eating her breakfast, she just stirred the floating cereal around.
"I'm not hungry," She announced after a few minutes.
Sara downed her orange juice with one gulp before answering.
"Not hungry? Are you nervous?"
Liz nodded.
"You are going to do fine. There's nothing to be nervous about. But if you don't want to eat, I suppose you don't have to. Let's get a move on."
Liz jumped up from the table and quickly tied the untied shoes on her feet.
She grabbed her backpack off the stairs and she was ready.
Sara, however, had just barely finished putting her hair up into a ponytail.
"Good Lord, you're a fast one. You'd think I'd be used to that by now. Give Mommy just one minute, okay?"
She rushed up the stairs and threw on her favorite jeans and t-shirt.
After checking herself in the mirror, she ran back downstairs.
"Okay. Let's go."
Liz calmly walked out the door, backpack bouncing with each step she took.
Sara smiled to herself as she helped Liz into the large Tahoe; She buckled the girl's seatbelt and rushed around to her side of the vehicle.
"So, are you going to miss me?" Liz asked from the back seat.
Sara nodded.
"Yeah. With all of my heart."