‘It’s Not a Tired Cry or Even a Breakdown Cry. It’s a Heartbroken Cry. Today Was Her Last Day of Kindergarten.’

“I’ve never seen my child cry like this before. It’s not a tired cry or even a breakdown cry.

It’s a heartbroken cry.

Today, was her very last day of Kindergarten, or e-learning rather. She seemed pretty aloof about it all until we pulled into school to return her materials. Then, as she choked back sobs, she quietly said, ‘I’m just really going to miss my teachers.’

That’s when the floodgates opened for both of us.

I tried to say the right things like, ‘When something ends, something new begins,’ but that just made her cry harder. So, I remembered what helped me when I spent a solid chunk of my twenties nursing a broken heart:

Time.

The last thing I said to my daughter was, ‘I know. This feels hard and unfair because it is.’ Then we cried together, grabbed some ice cream for good measure, and came home to rest in bed.

Watching my five-year-old process the loss of her first love—her teachers—is the most humbling moment I’ve had as her mother. I didn’t even know she was capable of feeling so deeply.

But it also means they’ve done a tremendous job with her. She was the recipient of good love, and yes, my sweet girl, sometimes when you get that kind of gold, it’s incredibly hard to let it go.”

**This post was written by Stephanie Hanrahan of Tinkles Her Pants and appeared on Love What Matters.