- Needing me-
School teaches you independence. This is a great skill- I know my children need to be independent- honestly, I want them to be able to do things on their own... why did I start bawling when Ben told me he could pick out his clothes "all by himself" the night before his first day of school?! Thoughts that flashed through my mind were standing in the store and picking out that first outfit that our child would wear coming home from the hospital... trying to decide if I should get the "newborn" or "0-3 month" size for this growing child... now he is picking out his own clothes....deciding how he would start his educational career...without my help?!
Obviously he did just fine picking out his clothes... now.. don't think this is the first time he ever picked out his clothes. Ben has been picking out what he wears for at least a year! (I told you that the majority of my thoughts were irrational!)-Growing up- This is the big one... I cherish my children. Every stage of their growth is amazing to me, yet, while they grow, I almost feel saddened that we are leaving the last stage.. .but excited to enter a new one...
it really reminds me of the story "Four Puppies" (by Anne Heathers) that was a favorite growing up.
Anyway...
Soon... September 12, 2011 was here. As I lay awake waiting for my alarm to go off my thoughts went back to all the firsts we have had so far with Benjamin....finding out we were pregnant, hearing his heartbeat for the first time, seeing him via ultrasound, his birthday...it was like a movie reel in my mind- as my alarm went off, I turned from the past to the present and became almost giddy with excitement that today was the first day of school!!! I was going to take a shower before getting Ben ready- but I had to peek in on him... what did I see?? Ben, laying in his bed, eyes wide open, huge smile on his face. I said something like "good morning my kindergartner" and his response was "don't wake me up mom, I am waiting for my alarm to go off." As he said this- he squeezed his eyes shut- showing me that he really was "asleep." When his alarm went off, he jumped out of bed and got dressed. He then ran into Tommy's room to help him get ready for his day. (up until this point... I am doing great! no tears in front of my children)... As Tommy is getting dressed Ben decides to let him know how the day is going to go by saying "Now Tommy, today I am going to Kindergarten. You will go to your school and I will go to Kindergarten. Don't worry, I will play with you after school, okay?" (Tommy replied) "Okay Ben, Kindergarten is far away?" (Ben) "I won't be at your school today Thomas, I will be at Kindergarten."
At this point I stepped out of the room to cry... It's a super exciting day for Ben, and what does he think of?! Tommy... his baby brother, to tell him that everything will be ok... my heart swells with pride.
We finish getting ready and head out the door for school. As we pull up to the school, Ben gets quiet... I remind myself that today is not about me, today is Ben's big day- and I swallow the lump in my throat, smile and we all get out of the car...
There are lots of other parents on the playground, we hug Ben and tell him how much fun he is going to have. The playground helper comes over and introduces herself... soon the bell rings and its time for Ben to line up!
We stand and watch as our baby goes inside, nervously looking back to see that we are still there... and, just like that...
We have a KINDERGARTNER!
Soon, it was time to pick him up- Tommy and I greeted him at the door of his classroom and he was all smiles... when asked how his first day of school went, his response was just what I wanted to hear.
"Kindergarten is awesome! I love school!" ~Benjamin, Age 5
Very cool story! You are so descriptive. I feel like I was there. I am so glad that even though its always hard to move to a new stage, that everything went so well! This is going to be a great new stage of life for your baby! My favorite part of this story was the way you described how your heart swelled with pride when Ben made sure Tommy was ok. I know exactly how you felt, and it could be the BEST feeling to experience as a mother of 2 (or more) :)
ReplyDelete-Sara Miller-