First Day

Well, today marked the first day for both my kids to be in school. I never did preschool with either of my kids, so that first day of Kindy is a big deal. They are used to playing with other kids at church and are used to me leaving them in capable hands, but it still feels different.

Usually the kids all line up in the gym, but because of all the kindy parents, the older kids went straight to their classrooms. That meant a short goodbye for Trina---a hug and she was off to her new class. Alex and I walked down and the first thing we saw was a little girl in his class tha WAS NOT HAPPY. I could tell it was spooking him. Mrs. M had to hold her while her dad left, but she's a pro--she was all smiles as she looked for Alex's nametag. I could feel the tears starting to surface several times. (like they are now just thinking about it) Finally we did our special goodbye force-push-kiss (our Stars Wars adaptation of blowing a kiss) which brought out my boy's smile, and I had to get out. But most of the parents weren't leaving.

Should I stay? Should I go? I stood in the main lobby trying to decide. The emotion down there was so intense, but I just wanted to make sure he was alright.

I went back, but I didn't call out to him or anything; I just watched. He wasn't smiley, but he seemed ok. I stood back as the classes got ready to head out. Mrs. G, the principal, gave a quick introduction to REACH behavior then she said, "wave goodbye to your moms and dads" That was the moment I had come back for! Even though he hadn't seen me for the last 10 minutes, he still looked straight at me. Thanks Holy Spirit for directing his eyes. We waved, and his class was off.

I love both of my kids' teachers this year, and I hope that will continue. But I really haven't met a teacher, administrator, or EA that I haven't liked at South. They are so friendly; it helps me know my kids will be taken care of by people who are glad to see them.

Only 40 more minutes til I can pick him up....and 4 hours after that we are back to get Trina!