Last week was a big, exciting, emotional week for our family. Nathan had his first day of Kindergarten. He's been so excited about starting Kindergarten, and I've been so weepy about it, ha!
Tuesday night, we went to meet his teacher and tour the school. He saw a Lego book at the library, and he was sold. He was also pumped about the gym and having art and music class every week. Everything is new to us, and that's made it harder on me, I think. At least next time we have a child starting Kindergarten, I'll be familiar with the school and the staff.
Wednesday, my mom kept Samuel and Elisabeth for me, so I could spend some time with Nathan before school started. We met friends at the movie theater and then went shoe shopping and stopped for ice cream. It was a special day. I treasured the sweet one on one time I had with him.
Thursday was the big day. We spent the morning packing lunch and having a special back to school breakfast. Nathan's school starts later, so we don't have to rush around in the mornings, which has been nice.
He was so excited all morning!
He was sweet to indulge me with all the pictures I wanted to take. He's such a good sport. I think he could tell I was having a hard time letting go.
He kept telling Elisabeth that he would be at school for SEVEN hours EVERYDAY. I felt like he was just twisting the knife in my heart, ha! I'm glad he was excited about it though!
I was teary walking him in and walking him out, but I don't think he noticed anything. I tried to hold myself together, so I wasn't a blubbering mess in front of everyone at the school.
He saw the Legos out at a table in his classroom and didn't even care when I left. He was ready to play!
Samuel, Elisabeth and I came home and baked some chocolate chip cookies our big Kindergartener requested for an after school snack. I'm hoping to make this a tradition!
Then we headed to the park to meet some friends for lunch. It was a wonderful distraction for me to spend some time with other moms going through the same transitions as I am right now. We talked all about school and questions we had and how our kids were doing, and how we were doing all while our Littles played and had fun and got so dirty we had to have baths before naps that afternoon.
I couldn't wait to pick my boy up after school. He was all smiles walking out of school and told me every detail and said he had a great day, except that he took too long eating his lunch and had to miss some of recess. His solution was for me to pack him less food :).
He requested Pizza Hut pizza for dinner, and I didn't mind not having to cook. I was so glad he had such a great first day.
I was proud of his coloring on the first day of school! I know he's going to learn so much this year.
Matt surprised me with some flowers at lunch because he knew I was having a rough day. They brightened my day so much. He really doesn't understand why I'm struggling, but he does recognize that it's tough on me, and that means a lot to me.
I had been so tense and stressed all week, and I kind of let it all out Thursday after the kids were in bed. I had a bit of a meltdown. It's hard when I've taken care of him almost everyday to put him in the care of people I don't know for so much of his life. It's a struggle for me to not know what he's doing all the time. I'm learning to survive without as much control of what's going on in his life, and it's a hard thing to do. All the little things go through my mind all day like "Will someone open his cheese stick for him at lunch?" "What if he gets thirsty? Will his teacher let him get a drink?" "Will he have friends to play with?" "What if he gets lost trying to find his classroom?" I know they're all silly things, but it's been my job for the last five years to take care of all those things for him, and now it isn't my job anymore at least not for a big chunk of the day. I know in my head that it's good for him to learn to problem solve and struggle and figure things out on his own, but my heart still hurts. The last few days have been easier for me, and he still loves school, and is all smiles walking in every morning and walking out every afternoon, and that helps so much! Kindergarten, let's do this!!
And just for fun, I did a little survey with him as he started school. I'm going to try and remember to do this every year and see how his answers change.
How old are
you?
5
What is your
favorite color?
Red
What is your
favorite food?
Pizza
What is your
favorite TV show?
Power
Rangers
What is your
favorite holiday?
Christmas
What is your
favorite thing to do with Mom?
Play
with Power Rangers
What is your
favorite thing to do with Dad?
Go
to the park
What is your
favorite thing to do with Samuel?
Play
in the hideout
What is your
favorite thing to do with Elisabeth?
Play
with her and mommy
What are you
most excited about this year in school?
The
first day of school
What are you
most nervous about this year in school?
Going
without mommy
What do you
want to be when you grow up?
Police
Officer
What is your
favorite movie?
Star
Wars
What is your
favorite toy?
Dino
chargers
What is your
favorite thing to wear?
Kylo
Ren Star Wars shirt
Who are you
going to marry when you grow up?
Makinley (Ivy)
No comments:
Post a Comment