First Day of School

I've been so remiss when it comes to posting. I apologize to all of you, especially because some of you who don't see me or hear from me regularly rely on the blog to get updates. And when you don't see updates you worry about us. So please accept my apologies. Nothing is wrong. We haven't been sick. We've just been busy and preparing for some transitions.

A big contributor to the busy-ness has to do with Joli. We had our "Sparkly Happy Sidewalk Sale" this past weekend, so we've been a little crazed. But even bigger than that, we have been preparing for Allen to go to "school."

Mommy calls it school, but it's really more like daycare with a focus on education. I call it school for two reasons. First, Allen is thrilled at the idea of going to school. Second, in my tremendous new mommy naivete, I said that I would never put Allen in daycare. (I also said that he would never taste fast food, and he knows exactly where Chick-Fil-A is.) It's not that there is anything at all wrong with daycare. I'm just a nervous mom, and I didn't really know what to expect. And in reality, after looking into a few preschools, this "daycare" came out at the top when it came to mine and Brian's comfort levels. It's the cleanest, most secure, most friendly, most attentive, and smallest. All important things for us.

In spite of how comfortable the staff and facility made me, I still went through some depression and anxiety over the fact that we were sending Allen to school (this decision was made for a combination of reasons: money and the fact that the wonderful Miss "S" is in Europe for a month and then off to med school). In some ways this was a devastating decision for me. But, I focused on the positive aspects and moved on.

After all these decisions and emotions, we get to today: Allen's first day at his new "school." We have been preparing him for about a week. We visited it together last week; we talked about going to school and playing with friends; we discussed it over dinner last night. And we assured Allen that we would stay at school with him as long as he wanted us to. We wouldn't leave until he was ready.

Brian stayed home from work this morning so we could take him together. We packed his new Cars backpack (thanks Aunt Kissy), and got his nap-mat ready. I even ironed the shirt he was going to wear. We talked about it all morning (his response: I'm so lucky!). As we pulled into the driveway, Allen exclaimed, "My school!!" The next few moments went by in a flash ...

Once he got that backpack off, he moved so quickly, I couldn't take pictures. He marched right up the steps to go find Miss L and the kids.

Mommy: Can't you give Mommy and Daddy kisses goodbye?

Allen: Oh, yeah. (stands there waiting for us to come to him)

(kisses and hugs quickly)

Mommy: Bye. Have a good day. Love you!

Allen: See ya yater! (walks away)

We were in and out in less than five minutes. It was so anticlimactic. We were relieved that he was so excited to be there, but a little sad that he wasn't more attached to us. One of our dear friends/neighbors/customers told me though that his reaction means that he has a strong sense of self, and that means that we're doing a good job with him. He feels secure and loved, so he feels confident. That made me feel really good.

Read the next post to find out about the pick-up and the first-day-of-school party.

xoxo,