Their are certain moments that look completely ordinary when they are happening, but somehow if you sit for a while and look back you come to appreciate the beauty in it and they make you stop and realise how much life has changed. Dropping my nieces off at school was one of those moments for me. It wasn't some huge deal, in fact when i woke up i was tired because i had to wake up very early and drop them off. It was literally just taking them to school, watching them get out of the car and head towards the school grounds but somewhere in the middle of all that, I found myself thinking about how quickly everyone grows up, the crazy thing is that i actually went to the same school i dropped them off at. How crazy is that! and its one of those moments that make me especially thankful for the gift of life.
It honestly feels like yesterday when they were much smaller and everything about them seemed so tiny. Back then, the idea of them going to school felt like something that was still far away. You look at children when they are young and you somehow convince yourself that there is plenty of time. Then one day you are sitting in a car waiting for them to get out because you have to drop them off at school, and you realise that those years did not wait for anybody. Being the uncle in this situation is also kind of tricky because you are not quite the parent, but you still feel that little sense of responsibility when you are taking them somewhere or when they come to meet you with a problem or anything. In a way i see them as my own children. You are making sure they have everything they need, making sure they get there safely and then watching them walk away.
Of course, the school run itself is always an experience. The parking area is full of cars, parents are dropping off their children, everyone seems to be in a hurry and there is that familiar morning chaos everywhere. You have people getting out of cars, children walking around with their bags and parents trying to make sure everyone gets where they are supposed to be. It is one of those scenes that probably happens every single school day without anybody giving it much thought. But I think that is exactly what makes moments like this special. Life is mostly made up of these ordinary moments. We spend so much time waiting for the big things to happen that we sometimes forget that these little moments are the ones that eventually become memories. One day, I might look back at this video and realise that this was one of those small moments I didn't know I would miss.
So yes, this was just me dropping my nieces off at school. Nothing dramatic happened and there was no big celebration and it was probably just another normal school morning for them, in which they probably couldn't even wait to get back home but for me, it was another little reminder that life really does move incredibly fast. The children keep growing, the years keep passing and before you know it they will also be dropping their own children or nieces at school. At the end of the day it is the cycle of life that is at play here and it is beautiful to experience first hand. Scenes like this is what makes me so passionate about protecting the innocence of children, children should be children and we as a society must do everything to protect their innocence.