Mom Celebrates Son's First Day of School With an Amazing Keepsake T-Shirt

Parents

With school districts all over the country getting back in session, your social media feeds are likely brimming with shots that feature kids of all ages heading out the door to start their next big year. These photos often serve as sweet keepsakes for parents and loved ones to look back on just how much children have grown over the years. Now, a mom from Texas is going viral for sharing her cool twist on the tradition: a T-shirt that her son Gus can wear every year of school until he graduates.

The thing is: Gus is only 5 years old right now, and yep, the shirt will still fit him when he's a senior in high school.

Carina Cansino took to Twitter to proudly share photos of Gus in the tee, which displays his high school graduation year: 2032. The back features every year of school he'll attend between now and then (beginning with preschool) and spots for his annual handprint.

Cansino explains, "I wanted my son and I to have something special that we both could enjoy over the years—not only the crafty part, but also the sentimental value it will have in the future."

But the cool tee isn't the only item Cansino plans to use to document her son's school years. She also started a journal that she plans to give to him when he graduates from high school.

The proud mom elaborates, "The journal was more inspired by me being a teen parent and my son being my only drive and rock through all of it. I’m now in a growing career and attending college, and I share all those accomplishments with Gus in the journal as it’s happening. The catch is he won't be able to read it until after he graduates and can take it off to college with him. Something he can read when he's hitting rock bottom and can see how he helped his mama overcome her struggles."

How does the 5-year-old feel about his tee? Cansino says he's a big fan. "Gus loves the shirt, because he gets to play with all the paint and get messy!" she notes. "But once he puts it on, he says he looks funny. It's funny to him now, but when he grows up he’ll understand!"

Gus Cansino
Gus Cansino

Carina Cansino

Since Cansino shared the tweet on August 19, the post has already wracked up 32.7K retweets and 205.8K likes. She's sure to inspire plenty of other parents to get even more artistic with their back-to-school keepsakes. After all, as many a seasoned parent will warn you, the years fly by, and once they've passed, it sure will be heartwarming to have your own version of handprints and journal entries to look back on.