August 2016
"Bye-bye, sweetie!" Jo gave Bethany a big hug and kiss.
"Bye-bye, Mommy!" Bethany placed a wet, sloppy kiss on her mother's cheek before lining up to board the school bus with the other children. Jo watched as her daughter, adorable in her new navy blue dressed trimmed in white, her wavy brown hair hanging just past her shoulders, her new Doozers backpack on her back, climbed the steps to board the bus. She watched until she couldn't see Bethany any more, then walked back home.
The morning seemed oddly quiet, and time seemed to pass slowly as Jo wondered how her daughter was faring on her first day of school. Was she getting along well with the other children? Was she homesick?
Jo was soon absorbed in her at-home business, and almost before she knew it, it was time to pick Bethany up from the bus stop. She greeted the several other mothers who were there too, then stood with them to wait for the bus. After about fifteen or twenty minutes, it came rumbling along and stopped in front of them.
Bethany was the second child to step down from the bus. She ran to her mother and threw her arms around her.
"I made a big letter B!" she exclaimed. "B is for Bethany!"
"It sure is!" Jo agreed. "You can show it to me when we get home."
It turned out to be made of multi-colored tissue paper that had been glued to a piece of red construction paper. Jo used four refrigerator magnets to hang it on the refrigerator.
"We can show it to your Daddy when he gets home," she told her daughter.
Dinner was hamburgers and homemade fries. Jo had it ready and on the table when Doug arrived home. Bethany ran to meet him at the door.
"How's my big ol' kindergartner?" he asked as he scooped her up and held her. "Did you have a good day?"
"Uh huh! My new teacher's real nice, and I learned a new song!"
"Did you, now?"
"Uh huh! And I made a big letter B, too! Mommy stuck it on the refrigerator!"
"I can't wait to see it!"
Doug put her down, and they walked into the kitchen. "Well, would you look at that! Our little girl's a buddin' artist!" he exclaimed when he saw the picture. He looked at Jo. "I'm real proud of all three of them!"
"So am I!" Jo replied. Clay and Taylor had been dating seriously for over a year and were now engaged, and Jamie had married Andy the previous June. She still worked right alongside him as a missionary in the Amazon, and they hoped to start their own family soon.
Doug's arms encircled Jo's waist, and he pulled her close. "I think we're doin' a good job, hon."
"Me too!" she replied with a smile.
Thanks to everyone who read and/or reviewed this story!