Oh, The Places He'll Go - 1st Day of School...

Dan, the kindergartener, woke at exactly 6:30, excited about the day. I was already in the kitchen making a special breakfast.

 

The night before Dan had gotten a bit melancholy, proclaiming that he would "really, really, REALLY," miss me. I thought about that as I opened mail after kissing him goodnight. One envelope contained junk mail, but glued to it was a coin about the size of a quarter with a heart on each side. I put it aside last night, and this morning I gave it to Dan and told him that my heart was on one side of the coin and his was on the other. I had him put the coin in his pocket so that if he missed me during the day he could just reach for the coin and know my heart is with him. I know, it's over-the-top, but it felt good.

 

Ahem.

Dan decided to skip the sneakers and wear "really fast shoes", and was excited to find that his socks match his shirt. I'm not new at this, ya know...

 

We met friends and walked to school together. As we approached the crossing guard Dan waved and said, "Good morning, Mrs. Crossing Guard!" I love that kid.

 

Once in the classroom Dan showed Pete where he would sit.

 

After a little while the teacher had all the kids take a seat on the floor. Dan may look melancholy in this photo...

 

...but a few seconds later he looked at me and said, "GO!!!!!!!!!!"

So, we left.

I did tear up a bit, but didn't make a spectacle of myself. Pete went to work, and my friend and I went back to her house and sat there for a few moments just looking at each other, wrapping our brains around not having our kids with us. Then we went for a boo-hoo breakfast, where there was lots of laughter and not one tear.

I'll be back at the school this afternoon, waiting.


To quote the great Dr. Seuss, "Kid, you'll move mountains!"