Full of anxiety that something will inevitably go wrong, I pulled myself out of bed at the usual time and got Rachel up just like I do every day. Except today was different. We had a special dress picked out to wear. And a backpack to remember that we don't usually have. Today was different.
Willing my feet to take me into Rachel's bedroom I suddenly got the idea to make pancakes. I rarely have time to make them and this morning was different.
I woke up Rachel like I do every morning but this time with the promise of pancakes. She seemed unphased. The excitement of Kindergarten finally arriving and the promise of pancakes didn't seem exciting. I am a morning person with a non-morning person for a daughter. I have extra time allotted in our morning to gently wake her up and get her moving. I need each and every second of that extra allotted time. Every. Morning.
I make pancakes.....and I don't get them made well. There's chunks of pancake batter that didn't quite get mixed right in the pancake I serve her. So much for the perfect start to her first day!!! I try to shrug it off as no big deal. Because it does happen. Even to the superest of moms.
Then we get dressed. I can tell she's shrugging off the sleepies. She is becoming excited about getting her pretty dress on. She likes playing dress up, but today is special. Because usually I don't allow fun dresses to be worn to school. (WHY?! Because my kid's favorite activities are paint and markers. Therefore: frequently ruined clothing). Today? I'm willing to relax that rule knowing this dress might come home stained. (WHY? Because today may not be as special to her as it is to me and I want her in a dress, dang it.)
Whew. We're dressed., Extra clothes are in her backpack. What does a Kindergartner take to school in a backpack? 'Cuz I'm kind of feeling silly sending this kid to school with an empty bag that's about the same size that she is. Her school supplies are already at school. Should I put something in there to take up space? Like blanket or pillow so her bag is all poofed out? No.....let's put the nonsense aside, Allison. Logic must prevail. Keep it together. *Deep Breath.*
Time to walk out the door. I carefully pick up the little chalk board I'd painstakingly wrote on the night before so it would be all ready.
SIDE BAR - this chalk board.
You know how everyone keeps posting pictures of their kids first days and they're holding signs of all variations? I decided (at the last minute of course) that I wanted one too. And a special outfit for her to wear. I went away last weekend owning neither. So I reached out to a friend of mine and asked her if she might have time to make one. She'd made a similar sign for her daughter's 1st birthday a few years ago and is pretty artsy. She told me she'd take care of it. Tuesday evening I get a text from her that it was done and delivered to my door. She refused to let me pay her for it. I cannot tell you what this gesture meant to me. I have a chalk board I didn't make (and therefore wouldn't criticize) and it was as adorable as I had wanted. I wouldn't have been happy with one I made myself and couldn't really decide on what I wanted anyway. It was perfect and was one more detail that made this first day a little easier for me.
So we head out to a tree we had planted about a month ago to take her picture. My aunt planted a gorgeous tree in her front yard the year I started Kindergarten. It's still there. And I have photos of me with it around the time I started Kindergarten. Now we also have a tree that was planted the year Rachel goes to Kindergarten and I hope we get to take photos there every year.
Ok ok ok.....photos. Here you go.
The Life Guard thing? This is the sweetest story.
Monday they had an ice cream social at school for the kids to meet their teachers, see their classrooms, find their way around, etc. I left work a little late and ran through the drive thru for dinner. We sat in the parking lot of the school eating before the event began. Knowing the chalk board was coming I asked some random questions.....such as what is your favorite color, what's the name of your teacher (to make sure she knew) and then asked "What do you want to be when you grow up?"
Her response was immediately to pause and think. After a moment she looked at me and said, "A swimmer."
???????? Um........huh? How are you supposed to react? I tried to remain calm and nonreactive.
"Oh. Ok. Sure! Why do you want to be a swimmer?"
"So I can jump in the pool and help people when they can't swim and give them floaties".
My heart be still. This stems from an event that happened last summer. We were at a public pool and Jason and I were sitting on chairs talking while Rachel played in the kiddie pool. She got to the other end and it was deeper than I had thought and she couldn't swim. She didn't have her life jacket on yet as we hadn't been there that long. Jason noticed her in distress and I jumped up and flew across the pool, floundering to get to her quicker than humanly possible. The lifeguard near her did nothing. Didn't react. Another parent near me saw what happened and asked the Lifeguard why she didn't help. The Life guard didn't react. Another parent reported this teenage kid....and I'm sure nothing came about of it. Rachel was terrified the rest of the summer of the water (and we didn't go back to that pool again). In January I signed her up for swim classes to have someone else help her be ok with being in the water. It worked. This summer, with the help of noodles and water wings this kid is fearless when it comes to swimming. We visited a nearby neighborhood pool that has a lifeguard and Rachel was intrigued by this girl for some reason. They take a 15 minute break every hour and Rachel wanted to know what she was doing the whole time. Even talking to the lifeguard while she was watching the water.
Now, here we are a year later and this kid wants to grow up to help other kids not be scared of the water like she was. Amazing I tell you.
Back to the first day of school......
I drop her off at her Day Care and the teachers are more chatty than usual, and I appreciate it. I think they're all anxious about the first day of school and the changes to the routine that will happen as a result of it.
Then I drop her off, grit my teeth, and walk back out the door. But I keep it together! Noooooooooooooo tears for me. (of course none for her. She gets to ride the school bus and finally carry her backpack.)
I get home and begin working.....kind of not sure what to do with myself as my list is a mile long. My phone has been going off with texts from friends and family members who are enjoying the photos I've sent or asking me how it went.
I notice a text from a lady whose child also went to Goddard and we've had a play date before. She was dropping her daughter off at school and saw Rachel. She snapped these pictures and sent them to me:
She told me the process to get the kids in the building was pretty organized and everyone seemed to be doing ok. For some reason that squashed some of my anxiety about the whole idea of letting strangers take care of my kid. Honestly.....I REALLY don't know these people. But we've done it. We've gotten over the hump of dealing with the first day. I'll be anxious to hear how it went! I'll try to post again when I have details on everything.
Willing my feet to take me into Rachel's bedroom I suddenly got the idea to make pancakes. I rarely have time to make them and this morning was different.
I woke up Rachel like I do every morning but this time with the promise of pancakes. She seemed unphased. The excitement of Kindergarten finally arriving and the promise of pancakes didn't seem exciting. I am a morning person with a non-morning person for a daughter. I have extra time allotted in our morning to gently wake her up and get her moving. I need each and every second of that extra allotted time. Every. Morning.
I make pancakes.....and I don't get them made well. There's chunks of pancake batter that didn't quite get mixed right in the pancake I serve her. So much for the perfect start to her first day!!! I try to shrug it off as no big deal. Because it does happen. Even to the superest of moms.
Then we get dressed. I can tell she's shrugging off the sleepies. She is becoming excited about getting her pretty dress on. She likes playing dress up, but today is special. Because usually I don't allow fun dresses to be worn to school. (WHY?! Because my kid's favorite activities are paint and markers. Therefore: frequently ruined clothing). Today? I'm willing to relax that rule knowing this dress might come home stained. (WHY? Because today may not be as special to her as it is to me and I want her in a dress, dang it.)
Whew. We're dressed., Extra clothes are in her backpack. What does a Kindergartner take to school in a backpack? 'Cuz I'm kind of feeling silly sending this kid to school with an empty bag that's about the same size that she is. Her school supplies are already at school. Should I put something in there to take up space? Like blanket or pillow so her bag is all poofed out? No.....let's put the nonsense aside, Allison. Logic must prevail. Keep it together. *Deep Breath.*
Time to walk out the door. I carefully pick up the little chalk board I'd painstakingly wrote on the night before so it would be all ready.
SIDE BAR - this chalk board.
You know how everyone keeps posting pictures of their kids first days and they're holding signs of all variations? I decided (at the last minute of course) that I wanted one too. And a special outfit for her to wear. I went away last weekend owning neither. So I reached out to a friend of mine and asked her if she might have time to make one. She'd made a similar sign for her daughter's 1st birthday a few years ago and is pretty artsy. She told me she'd take care of it. Tuesday evening I get a text from her that it was done and delivered to my door. She refused to let me pay her for it. I cannot tell you what this gesture meant to me. I have a chalk board I didn't make (and therefore wouldn't criticize) and it was as adorable as I had wanted. I wouldn't have been happy with one I made myself and couldn't really decide on what I wanted anyway. It was perfect and was one more detail that made this first day a little easier for me.
So we head out to a tree we had planted about a month ago to take her picture. My aunt planted a gorgeous tree in her front yard the year I started Kindergarten. It's still there. And I have photos of me with it around the time I started Kindergarten. Now we also have a tree that was planted the year Rachel goes to Kindergarten and I hope we get to take photos there every year.
Ok ok ok.....photos. Here you go.
Look at how big the backpack looks on her!!!
The Life Guard thing? This is the sweetest story.
Monday they had an ice cream social at school for the kids to meet their teachers, see their classrooms, find their way around, etc. I left work a little late and ran through the drive thru for dinner. We sat in the parking lot of the school eating before the event began. Knowing the chalk board was coming I asked some random questions.....such as what is your favorite color, what's the name of your teacher (to make sure she knew) and then asked "What do you want to be when you grow up?"
Her response was immediately to pause and think. After a moment she looked at me and said, "A swimmer."
???????? Um........huh? How are you supposed to react? I tried to remain calm and nonreactive.
"Oh. Ok. Sure! Why do you want to be a swimmer?"
"So I can jump in the pool and help people when they can't swim and give them floaties".
My heart be still. This stems from an event that happened last summer. We were at a public pool and Jason and I were sitting on chairs talking while Rachel played in the kiddie pool. She got to the other end and it was deeper than I had thought and she couldn't swim. She didn't have her life jacket on yet as we hadn't been there that long. Jason noticed her in distress and I jumped up and flew across the pool, floundering to get to her quicker than humanly possible. The lifeguard near her did nothing. Didn't react. Another parent near me saw what happened and asked the Lifeguard why she didn't help. The Life guard didn't react. Another parent reported this teenage kid....and I'm sure nothing came about of it. Rachel was terrified the rest of the summer of the water (and we didn't go back to that pool again). In January I signed her up for swim classes to have someone else help her be ok with being in the water. It worked. This summer, with the help of noodles and water wings this kid is fearless when it comes to swimming. We visited a nearby neighborhood pool that has a lifeguard and Rachel was intrigued by this girl for some reason. They take a 15 minute break every hour and Rachel wanted to know what she was doing the whole time. Even talking to the lifeguard while she was watching the water.
Now, here we are a year later and this kid wants to grow up to help other kids not be scared of the water like she was. Amazing I tell you.
Back to the first day of school......
I drop her off at her Day Care and the teachers are more chatty than usual, and I appreciate it. I think they're all anxious about the first day of school and the changes to the routine that will happen as a result of it.
Then I drop her off, grit my teeth, and walk back out the door. But I keep it together! Noooooooooooooo tears for me. (of course none for her. She gets to ride the school bus and finally carry her backpack.)
I get home and begin working.....kind of not sure what to do with myself as my list is a mile long. My phone has been going off with texts from friends and family members who are enjoying the photos I've sent or asking me how it went.
I notice a text from a lady whose child also went to Goddard and we've had a play date before. She was dropping her daughter off at school and saw Rachel. She snapped these pictures and sent them to me:
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