First Day of School

Truth:  I've been delaying writing this blog post until I can do it without getting teary, but I'm not sure that day is ever going to come, so here goes.   Last Monday, August 29, was the first day of school for Luke and Leah.  I have a third grader and a kindergartner now, and this milestone was much, much harder for me than them.  They'll probably never know the jitters that I felt on their behalf, how I had dreams leading up to the first day of school, and how I watched them as they slept the night before.  Sending Luke to kindergarten three years ago was an equally huge milestone, but in a very different way.  At that time, I was anxious about sending my firstborn into the big world, was unsure of what kindergarten would be like, and wondered how he'd meet friends and find his way.  I held Leah close that fall, knowing that I still had my "baby" at home with me for a few more years... and that provided me with comfort as we navigated having Luke gone all day and felt out our new routine.

This time around, the emotions were completely different.  We know and love the school, and Leah has felt at home at Oak Ridge Elementary for the past two years.  She's been my helper with Luke's class parties, attended countless school events, and even pointed out the kindergarten hallway to me.  She was as ready as any child could be, and was excited about riding the bus more than anything else!  (It reminds me of when Luke began kindergarten and the highlight for him was "staying for lunch each day" and eating in the cafeteria!).  Here is our sweet kindergartner, who was all smiles on Monday:  



We are so, so proud of Leah, and the darling child that she is.  She has such a kind heart, and is wise beyond her years.  She seems so much more mature than other children her age, and is extremely observant and perceptive.  One of Leah's gifts is that she makes everyone around her feel good about themselves.  She literally brightens a room with her loving personality and warmth.  She is funny and bright, witty and affectionate, and is easy going and agreeable.  Leah handles her brother better than anyone else does, and she is this perfect combination of sweet and strong, which means that she can hang with the boys in her class (which is great since her kindergarten class has 15 boys and 6 girls!).  She loves the color blue and vastly prefers superheroes and monster trucks over Barbies, but will still willingly wear sundresses and pink.  It is a true joy to spend my days with Leah, which is why it is so hard for me to send her to kindergarten.  This time around, I am sad for me... to have my best little buddy be gone all day, and to let go of her... even though I know that this is exactly what she is supposed to do...to spread her wings and fly:

Thankfully, Luke, who enters all new situations with exuberance and ease, was ready and steady on Monday.  His enthusiasm for school was contagious, and he helped us chug through our morning routine on that first day.  Luke always poses willingly for his first day of school pictures, was excited and happy, and made the transition back into his school routine seamlessly.  Thank you, dear boy!

Winnie watches the kids from our front porch each morning as they wait at the bus stop (in front of our house), and on Monday morning, she plopped right down with L&L as I was taking First Day of School pictures:



After our photo shoot, the kids ran down the driveway to wait for the bus, and my emotions got the best of me.  Mark saw my tears and whispered, "Oh, no.  Not yet!".   Luckily, our sweet neighbor distracted Leah so that I could compose myself, but that lump in my throat never went away, and as the bus pulled up, I couldn't hold it together.  The kids were too excited to notice, and they jumped right on that big yellow bus:

I went inside, and about 5 minutes later, my phone vibrated.  I received these photo texts from my friend, who had driven her boys to school and walked them into the building.  I can not explain how comforting it was to see a picture of Leah with her 2 adorable escorts (Luke and our neighbor, Noah) as they walked her to her classroom:

I met a group of kindergarten moms/friends at Panera an hour later, and Leah told everyone that all of the Mommies were planning to have pastries and cry together (which wasn't far from the truth).  How lucky I am to have found such a great group of women who support each other as we share these parenting moments.

Leah got off the bus in the afternoon, and exclaimed, "Mommy, I didn't like kindergarten..... I LOVED IT!".   I have never been so happy to hug my babies, and am thrilled to have made it through the day in one piece.  It's time to embrace to a new stage of life for our family, and to remember that it's the beginning of a wonderful new chapter for Leah!