Kindergarten Kid

Jack started Kindergarten today.

It was one of the most emotionally tough days of my life.  It certainly doesn't help that I am 81/2 months pregnant, but beyond that it was tough....I promise.

I cried sobbed on and off all day.  I thought about him nonstop and wondered if he was thinking about me. I hoped not, but definitely wondered.  The minutes on the clock ticked by sooooo slowly and I couldn't help but think on several occasions, "surely it's time to go get him now".

I missed his little voice {even the whiny one}.  I missed eating breakfast with him and Maggie.  I missed the way he zooms around the house ninety to nothing.  It was a quiet morning {and not the kind that you feel like you deserve every once in a while}.

I prayed that his teacher could see how special he was, how much he was loved, and treat him so, as best as she could, even though she just met him.  I wished that he made a friend, found someone to play with at recess, and a buddy to sit next to in the cafeteria.

I worried that he wouldn't be able to open his yogurt at lunch or tie his shoes on the playground.  I worried that he was exhausted and maybe he just wasn't ready.  And then I thought about how we have spent 5 years preparing for this day and maybe it was just me who selfishly wan't ready.

And then it was finally time to pick him up.

I left for the carpool line a whole 30 minutes early.  I wanted to see him so badly.  Be there waiting for him when he came out.  Instead I just spent an extra 30 minutes sitting in my car, but I tried.  {Lesson of a new Kindergarten Mommy learned.}

When he got in the car he smiled.  I don't know if it was because he saw me or because he saw that I had a juice box and a snack waiting for him.  Probably the latter, but I didn't care.  I was just so happy to see him.  And his sweet little grin.

And then he spoke.  The famous first words out of his mouth on this very first day of Kindergarten..."Mommy when I get home can I take a nap?".

So we did.  Jack came home and went straight to his bed.  All that waiting...all day long...and he left me for a nap.  Believe it or not, I didn't expect much different.

When he woke, he told me in Jack detail {which is very vague} about his day.  The just was...he liked it, he wanted to go back, he made a friend, his teacher was nice, he really wanted to go to the writing center soon, he had a TV in his room, the cafeteria was really big, at art he and two other boys got a table allllll to themselves, and he wasn't tired until he got in the car.

I was happy to see him happy.  Still emotionally drained {and exhausted from our new 6:30 a.m. wake up call}.  But wow, what a bold reminder that they grow up way too fast.

Enjoy every minute...I'm telling you and reminding myself.  And to quote one of my loveliest Mommy friends, "the days are long, but the years fly".

The First Day...

{And on a lighter note...we are still squaring away the logistics of our morning routine.  The most important being toothbrushing.  You will love this.  Jack had a chocolate chip muffin for breakfast {yes, awful I know, but it was the first day}.  Anyway, we brushed before breakfast so we wouldn't have to go back upstairs.  It took me until we arrived at his classroom door to realize every gap in his teeth were filled with chocolate!  I grabbed his water bottle, had him swish and run outside to spit.  And then I got home and looked at all of his first day pictures and cracked up through my teary eyes.  He looks nearly toothless!  I edited as best as I could, but some things just can't be fixed.  Needless to say, we now have a toothbrush in the downstairs bathroom.  We are brushing AFTER breakfast from here on out.  Oh, and no more chocolate chocolate chip muffins.}