In the five years that Aaron and I have been parents, we never have had one of those, "well, I guess we must be doing something right!" moments. I think like most parents, we never feel that we are doing as well as we could in being good parents to our children. But, Thursday morning was one of those moments. Drew did incredible on his first day of kindergarten! I kind of expected him to be just fine--he is just one of those kids who adjusts easily to new situations and meeting new people. I feel very lucky for that as I would have been a nervous wreck all day if he would have been upset when we left him. We started the day well--he got up at 7:30 a.m., ate breakfast (I made Pillsbury cinnamon rolls as a treat for the first day), got dressed (I laid out his clothes for the day, so we would not be scrambling to find his shoes or something else that was missplaced by one of the kids) and he was ready with his backpack by 8:15 a.m. We took a bunch of pictures and we waited eagerly for the school bus to arrive at 8:30 a.m. He got on the bus with the other kids and sat in his seat--there is a photo above of his facial expression as he realizes that he is riding the bus for the first time--it is a look of awe and slight nervousness--this is an expression that I have never seen on his face and it cracks me up! We met him at school when the bus arrived. He looked like he was already a pro at riding the bus! We took a few more pictures before he sat down in his new classroom. I think I was more nervous than he was. Luckily and a smart move on his new teacher's part, she had paper, crayons and scissors sitting on the tables and Drew (the little artist he is) just sat down and starting on his project. When the little boy next to him (who lives on our cul-de-sac) got upset when another kid took his seat next to Drew (and who was crying because he was so nervous about his parents leaving him)--Drew moved to another table so that they could both sit together. We said good-bye to Drew and he was just like, "okay, see you later Mommy and Daddy!" After that, some of the parents (and Claire--who would have stayed at school with the other kids if she would have been allowed to do so) met in the library for donuts and orange juice. Afterwards, Aaron (who took the day off from work), Claire and I went to First Watch for a celebratory brunch. When we got home, the house just seemed so quiet. In the prior days, I had been wishing for this day, as Drew was getting anxious and also a little naughty too, but with him gone, it just seemed really odd. While it will take a little time to get used to, I know I will get used to it and it will also give me a little one on one time with Claire--who is not used to receiving all of the attention. Drew's school schedule is odd--he is there all day on Tuesday and Thursday and then all day every other Friday. I wish that they had a more routine schedule--as he does better with being more consistent. But, we will learn to adjust. When he got home, he said the best part of his day was lunch (spoken like a true Mommy's boy!) It will be interesting to see what the year brings!
