Rochester resident Matt Knutson is the communications and events director for United Way of Olmsted County.

“She’s not going to leave us; she’s just a baby,” I told my wife after Gracelyn’s last day in her current room at daycare. No, she’s not being moved for bad behavior (thankfully). Our little girl is now old enough to play with some of the bigger babies in the next room over, so she’s officially graduated up to the next level. We’re very excited for Gracelyn, but Sera immediately had visions of our baby girl walking across the stage to accept her high school diploma and moving off to college.

Thankfully, we are years away from that journey. If I’m being honest, I am planning on Gracelyn being a genius, so we may be sending her off to an elite institute of higher education sooner than her peers. We’ll cross that bridge when she scores a perfect 36 on her ACT in junior high school. My wife keeps reminding me that we’ll be moving with Gracelyn wherever she goes to college, but I’ve got a few years yet to convince her otherwise.

For now, I’m comforting the mother of my daughter as she repeats things like, “She’s growing up too fast!” and “I’m not going to cry about it,” while tears well up in the corners of her eyes. Sera is right in a way, Gracelyn does seem to be growing up too fast. Just months ago all she could do was lay in our arms. These days she’s rocking her way toward the staircase (which still doesn’t have a safety gate – despite my third attempt this weekend). There’s no slowing her down, so instead, we need to come to terms with it.

Tomorrow, Gracelyn starts off as the littlest kid in the room again. In a room full of confident crawlers, she’ll be the least mobile. While the big kids will be confident eaters, our little girl will still be encountering new tastes of baby food. She’ll go from top dog to new pup, and I’m excited for her. These are the moments in life that cause someone to grow the most.

Remember when you started kindergarten? If you were like me, you were a little kid wearing an enormous backpack, stepping off the school bus with your teacher’s name and room number written on a sheet of paper you clung to with all your might. You found that classroom, made it through the first day, and came back the next day with a little more confidence in what it meant to be a kindergartener and a little bit better understanding of who you were in a classroom of your peers. You did not run the school, for me, that was the fifth-graders, but one day you’d be that really cool fifth-grader with the cross guard vest and bright orange flag, and everyone would know how cool you were.

There’s a ton of growth that can come to someone when they’re put back into that underdog role. Imagine me as a confident fifth grader helping the little kids cross the street, and then over a summer, I became the underdog again while starting sixth grade at a new school and at the bottom of the totem pole. It’s the circle of life, and it helps us become the person we’re suppose to be.

Gracelyn has what seems like a lifetime of these events heading her way, but as an established adult, it seems a bit like those days are behind me now. Gracelyn’s older classmates will be giving her great examples of how to crawl, walk, talk, use sign language, and more. Though Sera and I are older, we shouldn’t settle in the comfort of our lack of growth. There’s a whole world to study, learn, and improve. I’m hopeful that Gracelyn’s “graduation” to this next room at daycare inspires us to seek out what our next “graduation” could be. Hopefully it inspires you to have one as well.