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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

First Day Jitters....

Today was the first day of Kindergarten.

My baby girl has grown to the amazing age of five and as a result we put her on the bus and sent her off to school.  She loves it!  She loves everything about it!  The new backpack with matching lunchbox; the Cinderella pencil case; the folder to hold work; the new clothes and shoes; the prospect of homework; the ride to and from school on a "real" bus...the list goes on and on and on.  The bottom line is that mommy's baby is not a baby anymore and her independence and eagerness is shining through.

Mommy hates it!  I hate almost everything about it!  I hate the idea of the bigger kids on the bus; I hate the idea of remembering milk money; I hate that she has to make friends without any help from me; I hate that she will, at some point, have her feelings hurt or a skinned knee and I won't be right there to make it better; I hate that a sign of good parenting is raising a child that is ready for kindergarten, and then middle school, and then high school, and so on.  Mommy hates it so much that I walked home from the bus stop and promptly got in my car to be sure that she didn't get lost at the other end.  I hid behind a bush at the elementary school and while she didn't see me, I could see her smiling face in the right line with the right teacher.

And yet, I love it.  I love every minute of watching her grow. I love how excited she is about school.  I love that she can't wait to learn to read.  I love that she got off the bus this afternoon with stories from the day and an eagerness to go back tomorrow.  I love that tonight at bedtime she hugged me tight and said "Mommy, I love you.  Please snuggle a little longer." 

I will snuggle as long as you like beautiful girl.