First Day of Kindergarten

My baby is a school-ager. My husband and I drove together this morning to drop her off for the first time. I teared up. You'd think afer four and a half years of daycare that it would be no big deal. But today was the first time, ever, that we've dropped Charlotte at the door and she's had to walk inside by herself.



Not quite by herself, as the second picture shows. The school arranges to have teachers and eighth graders waiting at the drop off points to help the Primary (Kindergarten) students find their way inside, until they decide that they know their own way.

This morning was crazier than it was supposed to be. Yesterday, the wise teachers at Charlotte's preschool suggested that she and a couple of other soon-to-be-Kindergarteners should forgo their naps. She had swimming lessons that morning, and had been up late the night before, to anxious to sleep. So, last night, she excused herself from the table without touching the pizza that she helped to make and went to sleep. At six.

I didn't get to give her the Dora First Day of School book that I'd bought her, nor had we had time to sit down and fill out a simple "Getting to Know You" form her teachers had given us at the open house.

Charlotte fell asleep with chlorine-crunchy hair, so she got a shower before school this morning. And, I decided that, since she skipped dinner, she would need a heartier breakfast. I made pancakes and sausage, and she was still so keyed up that she only ate about half of her normal serving.

But she's off, with brand spanking-new white gym shoes in her backpack (that we forgot to drop off on Monday), and two apples--one for each teacher.

I will leave to pick her up only an hour and a half from now--she only has a half day today, and then its on to full days for the rest of the year. We're going to have a girls' lunch out, and then she has a doctor's appointment for her (only slightly late) school physical.

BTW, take a closer look at that first picture of Charlotte in the car. Look behind her. See those two pink legs sticking straight out. That would be her little brother, attempting to climb into the front seat while he thought I wasn't looking...