Give me a second while I have an emotional moment.

Yet another of our children is heading off to kindergarten and I am not handling it too well.

My wife, who I constantly present a strong front for, is not just emotional about it, she is in denial. For the longest time, she denied the need to buy school uniforms for Clayton. She would instead say things like “we will do it later” or “we do not need to do that right now.”

Unfortunately for us both, that “right now” is less than a month away and the days are ticking way.

To this very moment, I can remember what Sarah Cameron was wearing the morning she walked into kindergarten. Yellow uniform shirt, khaki skirt and the brightest tennis shoes known to man was the outfit of choice on that first day of school.

There was the cute little backpack and a smile that was a mile wide.

Now, that wide-eyed little girl will be going to sixth grade at Bowmar, this time having her little brother, Clayton, in tow.

Sorry Bowmar teachers and administration in advance. You now have two of them. And, you will have two of them for some time, as Fin is not far behind.

Moving to Vicksburg nearly three years ago, we did not have a full appreciation of the community to which we were moving. On that first day in Vicksburg, we only knew our realtor, a few acquaintances at First Baptist, who we met while visiting a few months earlier, and each other.

But, over those years, our roots have grown much deeper and a lot of that comes from our church family, and the schools our children have been blessed to attend.

In Alabama, we felt compelled for Sarah Cameron to go to a private school to have the best education possible. We never felt that same pull here.

While we both knew the quality of education at Vicksburg Catholic Schools and Porters’ Chapel was and is fantastic, we decided on the Vicksburg Warren School District and have never looked back.

While the thought of Clayton going to kindergarten and Sarah Cameron, who I affectionately call “Little Bit,” going to sixth grade makes me shutter, and my wife tear up, we are comforted in knowing the types of teachers, leaders and people genuinely interested in their well-being they will be surrounded.

The next level of acceptance for us will be the school supply list, the backpack and I am sure, some of the brightest tennis shoes you have ever seen.

Tim Reeves is the editor of The Vicksburg Post. He can be reached at tim.reeves@vicksburgpost.com.