Kindergarten 



7 pm: the night before Kindergarten, Dana and I got everything ready: the lunchbox, the backpack, the outfit. We figured out our plan for the morning and laid everything out: socks, shoes, clothes, folders - you name it, we had it ready. (Sadly, we both got the "over-planning" gene. This could get dangerous in years to come.)

She even tried on the new outfit I'd bought to make sure it fit:



8:30 pm, the night before Kindergarten, the following bedtime-stalling conversation took place:

D: "Mama, I'm scared to go to Kindergarten. I'm scared of the bus, too. Very scared of the bus."
me: "That's OK, sweetie. I get scared of things too. It's OK to be scared of new things."
D: "What are you scared of Mommy?"
me: "Well, I was very scared on November 20, 1999. Do you know what day that was?"
D: "My birthday!"
me: "Yes, the very day you were born. I was very scared. I'd never had a baby before. But my mother came up from VA to be with me that day and she told me I could do it and hugged me and kissed me, and then I didn't feel quite as scared. And now, look what I have - the best daughter in the world."
D: "So, that all worked out OK, right, mama?"
me: "yes, it sure did. Even though I was scared, it was wonderful."
D: "And Nana came and made you feel better?"
me: "Yes, just like I will meet you at Kindergarten tomorrow and hug and kiss you and hopefully make you feel better."

2 am, the night before Kindergarten: Dana wakes me up to tell me that she's not scared to ride the bus anymore.

2:30 am, the night before Kindergarten: She wakes me up again to tell me that she has changed her mind on her outfit. She wants to wear something that Nana bought her - so that Nana can help her feel less scared too.

3 am, the night before Kindergarten: She wakes me up again to tell me that she needs me to come and sleep in her bed with her, and for this one night, I do.

7 am, the morning of Kindergarten: I frantically look through the closet for something, anything, my mother bought her (frankly, not hard to find!) and we find a purple jumper that is the perfect "First Day of Kindergarten outfit." Dana and Doug spent some time taking pictures and having fun before we had to leave for the bus.



7:50 am: we went to the bus stop (which is right outside our house.)



7:58 am: The bus pulled up right on time, and Dana and our neighbor hopped right on with great excitement. They didn't even look back at us. Dana didn't even wave goodbye until she got on the bus. No tears were shed by anyone. (including me.) Davis and I hopped in the car and drive straight to the school.

8:15: The bus arrived at school and Dana got off with no problems



8:30 am: we found her locker and got her stuff situated



Then went to her classroom and found her spot.



She did just great. She was nervous, but also very excited.

Remarkably enough, I did fine too.

With all the horrid news coming in from around the world of death and destruction, I didn't really have any tears left to shed for Kindergarten, I suppose. It has definitely been a week of too many reminders of just how precious life is.

But Kindergarten....my baby is in Kindergarten. I'm so proud of her. And so happy that she is able to gain confidence from the knowledge that so many people love her. You know, I think she's going to do just fine.
 

Posted: Thu - September 1, 2005 at 11:08 AM          

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