Grant's second first day of school

Well, I did it. I sent my son off for his first day of kindergarten. Oh, I can't even explain what that was like. But . . . I'll try anyway. ('cause you know me!)

The morning was rushed! I watch my friend's two kids on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and they arrived a little after 7:00 this morning. Thankfully, by that time Cole had already taken a shower and was dressed to go to MOPS. I welcomed the two little additions and promptly threw their clothes at them. Okay, that is not EXACTLY what I did, but I did pull their clothes out and had them get dressed right away. They come in their pajamas, and it is SO HARD to get 4 kids and myself ready to get out the door in the morning unless I get these two dressed right away. So, although I'm sure they would have loved to snuggle under their blankies with their nice, warm jammies on, not gonna happen at my house. At least not on hectic days . . . like Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. So, now 3 kids are ready, plus I was able to take a shower while Mitch took the trash out ('cause Tuesdays are ALSO trash days. Ugh.). I tried to wake Grant up, and he begged me for "ten more minutes plus one", so I let him sleep a little longer while I put my makeup on and generally got myself ready for the day. When I came out of my bedroom, I saw Grant snuggling on the couch with his brother. (THAT warms the heart. You have no idea.) Time for breakfast, and since my friend brought pears, I decided to feed them all pears. My kids loved them. Her kids started to cry. Hmm . . . maybe they have had too many pears.

After that, it was all about Grant. I threw him in the shower, which he enjoyed very much and was loath to get out of, and we picked out one of the new shirts we bought yesterday in anticipation of his first day of kindergarten. My little guy was SO handsome!

After many false starts (Cole LOVES to open the garage door . . . even though we were not ready to go, yet) we finally piled into the car to take Grant to school. The short drive to school was filled with last minute instructions and encouragement. It's hard to get very deep, though, when there are 3 other kids listening in. We parked and got out of the Jeep. I grabbed my camera, and Grant, of course, faced AWAY from the camera. (He's in an uncooperative stage whenever the camera comes out!) I got a couple of decent shots. The teacher opened the door, and Grant walked right on in to the classroom. He remembered to hang up his coat and backpack, just like he was shown, and he found his name at the table. He sat right down, and the teacher explained his morning work.

THIS is when I started to lose it. My baby is a kindergartener. Watching him act so mature, so in control of his environment, really reaffirmed our (my) decision to put him in kindergarten rather than hold him back. At the same time, it was tough for me. Most moms get an entire year to prepare themselves for the idea that their child is going to be going to school every day, is becoming even more independent, and is slowly spreading his wings. I had about two days.

I walked over to Grant and got down to whisper in his ear. He continued to write his name while I told him how proud I was of him. I reminded him that if he needs help, he can just ask his teacher. He sneaked a peak at what his neighbor was doing so he could figure it out himself. I kissed his little cheek and told him I love him. He whispered back, "I love you too, mom," as he continued to work on his worksheet. Then, it was time for me to leave. Ugh. This was so much harder than I thought it would be. The teacher, my friend Alex, came over and asked me how I was doing. I started to tear up as I said, "I'm feeling a little emotional."

I was all choked up the entire (short) drive to MOPS. Al during MOPS I wondered how he was doing. I was sure he was fine, but still . . . I wondered. We went to pick Grant up from school at 11:30, and he came bounding out of his classroom like he has done it a million times. He told me he had a lot of fun, but some things were not so fun. He had to do a lot of work, and didn't get to play with the dinosaurs or the bugs. I explained that they were for his math work, so maybe tomorrow. He told me he likes his class and his new friends, then he ran off to the playground to play with them.

I'm so proud of that little guy. He is a mother's dream. He is such an absolute joy and I am so honored to be able to call him my son. This was a big day for him (and me). He's on the road to becoming a world changer.