Friday, August 31, 2012

Sifting Through Life: First Day of Kindergarten


Here we go!

School has started and so has the buzzing of this time of year.  I think I signed my life away for my son who is a sophomore in high school.  Every teacher has sent home a consent form, some teachers sent a safety form and others, a supply list.

Sign, print, date…REPEAT..over and over.

College has not yet started for my oldest daughter. She is home with me during the day.  Soon enough she will be back with a full load, preparing for mid terms and anxiously counting the days until she is finally done with school.

With Rye we sign one thing…the check. We are fortunate that we can pay for some of her schooling.

Kindergarten was a bit more laid back for Isabella, we met the teacher on Tuesday and she attended a staggered schedule on Thursday.  A few papers were filled out: birthday, name and locker tag.

The moment we left the classroom Isabella professed her love for her teacher.

"I just love my teacher," she says.

I was curious how a quick meeting with a woman that she just met could cause such a reaction in her small heart.

"Why is that?" I asked.

She sweetly replied, "Because she is beautiful Mom and she is my teacher".

AWWWWWW

Is she not the sweetest little five year old?  This morning as we left for school, she needed a gift for her new teacher.  We went out side to our back yard and looked around.  What could we quickly throw together?

The only thing we have blooming in our yard at the moment is a pretty bush with a cluster of pink blossoms at the very end of each branch.  We grabbed the kitchen shears and headed to the back of the yard.  We fought our way through spider webs and dead leaves.  Reaching up, we discovered that the pretty pink blossoms were wilting and slowly losing their beauty.


We picked them anyway.  I had taken three different types of ribbons in three colors to create a pretty bow to secure the small bouquet.

Our walk to school is short and sweet, it takes us about 5 minutes to weave around the cars parked in the street and cross the busy road to finally arrive at the new school.

I was impressed that Isabella was not nervous or scared.  She was so excited to deliver her gift that it helped to keep her mind off of the fact that she would be going to a new school.

Ms. (kindergarten teacher) did not disappoint.

There, in line, standing behind 4 or 5 little kids, Isabella patiently waited with her orange and pink back pack and Hello Kitty lunch box.  She was wearing the tennis shoes that she picked out with a cute floral shirt and jean capris.

With every opening and closing of the door she waited to see her teacher.  Her head would turn to me and then the door wondering when it would be her turn to go inside to see her new room.

Finally Ms. KT arrived.  Holding her short list of kids for the day, she spotted Isabella immediately and hugged her.  She saw the flowers, or what was left of the few blossoms that had made the trek from the back yard, down the street and to the front door of the school.  All the while being swung back and forth rubbing against her capris.

She smiled down at Isabella and I could see the admiration that Isabella had as she looked up into the eyes of the lady that would be responsible for my little girl, five days a week for 6.5 hours a day.


Isabella trusted her new teacher and was eager to stay.

There were no tears from her or from me.  We hugged and parted ways for a few hours as she adjusted to her new schedule, new friends and a new teacher.

I had planned on homeschooling Isabella as I had done with my older two.  She had other plans.  If we had another child closer to her age, I would have kept her with me, but we don't.  I have a college student and a high school student who are gone all day.  She longs for someone to play dolls, dress up and kitchen with her.  We play and play but it is never enough.

I don't have the stamina I had when my older two were this age and I don't want her to be bored.  I want her to be challenged and happy.

It was hard for me to decide to send her to school but I saw the joy that she radiated, the love she had for her teacher and the friends she was eager to play with on her first day of school.

I will take each year as it comes and if she is happy and doing well we won't change a thing.

I am grateful for teachers.  We feel lucky to live in an area with small class sizes, friendly families and great support from the school board.

I can't believe that we are already here: the first day of kindergarten.

I don't know how the time went by so fast, but it did.

I told my son the other day that I did not want him to grow up anymore.  I hugged him and realized I was not hugging the little boy anymore but a young man.  He looked down at me and smiled and said, "I know Mom".

He shaved for the first time this week.

Rye is moving on with her life too.  Establishing new friends, looking for a job, trying to figure out her future.

Oh, it's hard watching them grow up; yet it is exhilarating at the same time.

My kids will always be my most treasured possession.  I can't keep them in a fancy jewelry box or protect them from being stolen.

They have their whole lives ahead of them, just as we did.

The first day of kindergarten is the beginning of a whole new world for them, then high school and finally college.  It all goes by too fast.

I will watch them go and wait for them to return with arms wide open.

…there she goes!  
























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