Last night was Tyra's prom (she's the daughter of our neighbour's who live one house over). It worked out perfectly that I was able to take a few shots of her and her boyfriend Tom just minutes before they left. Kyle and I are lucky that we unknowingly moved onto a street with so many wonderful families, and we have become good friends with many of our neighbours. It gives me such peace of mind to know that there are people nearby who genuinely care about us. We babysit and cat-sit for one another, we take out trash bins, water and mow lawns, borrow and lend eggs (and garlic, honey, sugar, flour, black beans, wasabi, tomato paste, mayo…), and there always seems to be someone to pour a glass of wine or offer up a cold beer. Some of the families are "young families" like us, with preschoolers, toddlers and babies, while others are more "seasoned" with teenagers living in the house. It's always nice to hear the advice from those neighbours on raising kids as they have already been through all the things we are facing now. And the milestones seem to just keep getting bigger and bigger.
So while I prepare to send Robin off to Kindergarten this fall, Tyra's parents prepare to send her off to university. It's hard to imagine what that must feel like but I can only guess that it's a strange combination of pride, happiness and extreme heartache all mixed into one.
P.S. I also have to say that I really, really enjoyed taking photos of these two before they headed to prom.