For my daughter before she goes to the scary place

My dear daughter,

Soon you will go to the scary place. You know it is a scary place because you are scared. You are scared because you do not know what happens in the scary place. You are scared because you have to go to the scary place alone.

You have to go to the scary place alone. Mommy cannot be there. Daddy cannot be there. Even your brother cannot be there. We have all had our time in the scary place. Now, it is your turn.

You will go to the scary place alone, but you will not be alone. Others will be there. They won’t know the details of the scary place either. Many of them are probably scared too, even if they pretend not to be.

It has been a long time since it was my turn in the scary place. I cannot share many details other than this: The scary place changes people. That sounds scarier than it is. Change is good. You will grow there.

You may not feel like it, but you are ready. You are strong enough and brave enough to go to the scary place. You are smart enough to say its name:

Kindergarten.

Yes, my dear. Soon you will go to kindergarten. You used to long for this, but now that it is close you’ve gotten scared. That’s okay. Going to kindergarten can be scary, but being scary doesn’t make it bad.

There are going to be things that you love about kindergarten, and, yes, there will be some things you won’t like. You will learn from everything. You may start out shy, but I am confident you will find a friend, perhaps even a few.

I cannot go with you to kindergarten, but I will be with you in your heart as you will be in mine. I will not be able to watch you, but at night we will snuggle and you can tell me everything you did. I don’t think it will take long before kindergarten isn’t a scary place anymore.

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