First Day of School (From Mom's Perspective)

I sent my little (big?) boy off to school this morning. And I am so proud of him. He was sitting at breakfast and apparently hadn't picked up on Kendall's comment about school. All of the sudden Eli said, "I just remembered I'm going to school today!" The smile on his face was so big and bright and proud. So we got him all ready for school and he and I set off to walk to school.

As we walked, I felt a need to explain everything I possibly could about school...again. Just want him to be prepared, you know? He was fine, though when we got within sight of the school and saw all the kids playing outside, he did get a bit quieter. At least I think he did. I know I did. There are very big kids there! This ain't no preschool! As we walked across the schoolyard, I was thinking, Am I supposed to leave him at the playground? Who am I gonna play with? What if no one talks to me? I'm nervous! (Oh, wait. I was talking about Eli, not me. Right?)

Thankfully, we went in the kindergarten door and there were all the kindergarteners. They were drawing or looking at books or putting puzzles together until school started.

I could tell Eli was nervous, but he walked right over to his cubby. (When we met his teacher last week, she showed him where it was.) He sat down and changed into his new inside shoes and hung up his backpack and sweatshirt. Then he stuck close to me as we walked into his classroom. He decided to go look at books. At one point he checked back for me and I told him I wouldn't leave without telling him. The bell rang and it was time to gather on the rug. I told Eli goodbye then stood at the back of the room to watch a bit. He didn't turn around to check for me, but started a conversation with the little boy sitting beside him. So I left.

I did feel a bit better about all the scary big kids when two smiled at me as I walked off the school grounds. :) It appears that some might actually be kind to little kindergarteners and nervous mommies!

I'm very glad that I could drop him off at school and didn't have to watch him disappear onto a big yellow school bus. We were both disappointed when we found out that they don't have bus service to our house, but for the first day it was just fine for both of us.

I will say that back at home I felt like superwoman. With only one kid, I can do anything! (Some would say that with only two kids they can do anything!) I can have a pleasant grocery shopping experience. I can maybe go into a store that doesn't have carts. (We'll have to see about that one.) I can maybe even be more patient and less frazzled. I'm looking forward to less intensity and a lower noise level 2 days a week. My boys play and fight loud. Sort of like the family I grew up in. But I'm glad Eli's only going 2 days a week. It feels like a really good thing for him, but not too much.

And here I sit, freshly-baked bread on the counter, a cup of coffee at my side, relatively clean floors (swept, but needing to be mopped), clean laundry (still sitting in the dryer), plants needing to be watered, jeans in need of patches and ironing on the table, books on the floor, bathroom needing to be cleaned, a messy desk, rugs still hanging over the railing outside, papers that need sorting, and a little boy that needs to be woke up soon so he can sleep tonight. Alright, alright...I'll get to it. I was going to say I feel like I am living a life of leisure, but I just effectively reminded myself that I should probably get up and get back to work.