They grow up so fast!

We are excited and proud that we made it onto our first list: Mail Order Mystery is one of Working Mother Magazine’s 10 Great Gifts for Gradeschoolers. This list includes several “tween approved” gifts for grade-schoolers who are making the transition to middle school.

If we do say so ourselves, we think a Mail Order Mystery makes great end-of-school gift. So congratulations to us and congratulations to all of you who have a not-so-little little one about to graduate from elementary school.

It seems like just yesterday they were still in diapers, doesn’t it? Screaming with snot all over their faces, making you turn the light switch on and turn the light switch off five hundred times in a row. Remember how exhausted you were? Rushing off to the doctor to get there before it closed because your kid had a weird rash and and you were worried about missing nap and your hair was dirty and you had mashed carrots crusted to your shirt and some woman stopped you on the street to tell you to enjoy every moment because it goes by just like that? Remember? And even though you wanted to scream you knew she was right. Even then you knew she was right. Because it’s twelve years later and you’re trying to remember your kid’s first words, you’re remembering their first haircut, the first time they walked home from school by themselves, the first time you realized they were too heavy to carry.

What a dizzying mixture is this parenting: sorrow and pride and a love so fierce it takes the breath away. And really, all we need to do is breathe. Breathe. Whether we like it or not they are on their way, taking their first steps into this next phase of their beautiful, messy, confusing and astonishing lives. Congratulations to you. Congratulations to them. Congratulations to us at Mail Order Mystery.

And could you please pass the tissues?