Today was Reed's very first first day of school.
And it could not have gone any better.
:)
I don't know if it was the preparations we put into the first day (lots of talking, planning, getting excited, going to open house, etc). I don't know if Reed was looking forward to finally being able to do something that his big brother gets to do. I don't know if it's just Reed's more courageous, secure, trusting self.
But he totally rocked his first day!
The biggest bummer of the day occurred first thing...Reed didn't wake on his own in time so I had to wake him up. He really is quite pleasant to rustle in the morning, but it's just the idea that the kiddo probably could've used a few more minutes of shut eye. Nevertheless, he was fairly chipper and smiled when I reminded him what day it was.
Not to be outdone by his big brother, his special "Happy First Day of School!" breakfast was waiting for him at the table.
Seriously. This mood lasted all morning.
Reed attends preschool three mornings a week, and so on those days he will have to ride along as I drop off Drew before taking him to his school. We had a few minutes to spare before needing to leave, so we snuck in what will be his first of many traditional first day of school photos.
He was thrilled. He took himself to the steps, plopped down his school bucket, stood still, and smiled. Totally thrilled that this was his day!
Our home, Drew's school and Reed's school are all relatively close to one another, so it didn't take Reed and I long to arrive at the front doors of his school after dropping off Drew. I told him we were early and that we could just sit in the van for a few minutes before heading in...and he said no. "Let's go inside and wait!"
Excited much???
Okay, kiddo. Let's go inside!
One last posed photo before entering.
Reed found his coat hook...
...and his nametag before we sat down and waited for his classroom door to open.
I truly had not been worried at all about any kind of emotional breakdown on Reed's part. He's usually pretty sure of things and can exhibit a carefree attitude (when he wants to), and there were no signs leading up to today to suggest that he would have a difficult time separating from me. And even if he did, Drew has kind of broken me in in that department, I was at least confident in the fact that both of us would make it through to the other side.
But as we sat there, and Reed was observing all the other kids coming in with their parents, I wondered if maybe he was getting a bit nervous. He was quiet and contemplative and not at all interested in the questions I was asking him. And I wondered if I was in for a surprise emotional attack...
When the door opened to his room, and the children began to file in, I asked him if I could walk him to the door. It seemed as though he wavered just a bit before saying "ok." I hugged him good-bye, gave him a big kiss, told him I love him and to have a great morning, and his big blue eyes were fixated on all that was going on around him. I said "Go ahead. Follow your friends. I'll see you soon." He turned for one last look, I waved, and down the little hallway his little tooshie shimmied until he rounded the corner and I couldn't see him anymore.
And just like that. Bam. Off to school his goes.
And I didn't have to cry once!
When I picked him up just before lunch, he had soooo much to tell me! Everything he played with, the books his teacher read, the project he worked on... and when he learned it would be two days before he would go to school again, he appeared to be a bit bummed.
For his special first day of school treat, he chose the PlayPlace at McDonald's. Of course he did.
We ate dinner at home, but treated everyone to ice cream at McD's before spending just a bit of time in the PlayPlace.
Thus marks the beginning of the beginning for my little big man.
He's off on his own, finally able to do his own thing, away from Mom.
Something special and unique just for him.
It was only 2.5 hours.
But I missed him.
Yep. I did.
No comments:
Post a Comment