First day of school
A great day was had by all.
Slightly emotional for me, but great overall. We were so proud of him and he was so brave. He had no problems getting on the bus, or at any point during the day. Even when we left. He was fine. I could tell he was a little nervous, because right before we left, he knew we were going to leave and he came and gave me the biggest hug, a real genuine hug.
What I can tell you is that we were waiting and waiting and waiting for the bus and it was ~15 minutes late. But, once it got there – it only seemed like 5 seconds and they were off. I got a few photos, but it went really fast. We drove to the school and got there before the bus got there (they had more stops to do) and met him there. We walked him to his “line up spot” and then walked him to class with his teacher. And before you know it – we were leaving. Again, fast. Waiting and waiting and waiting – and then really really really fast.
At pick up tonight he was building Lincoln Logs houses and having a great time. He told us all about his day and he’s excited to go back tomorrow. We are so proud of him.
Sara had a great day too. She has the same teachers, who are wonderful, so things were very familiar for her (thank goodness!). She kept asking about “where brother?”, at kindergarten. “where kindergarten?”, at Alex’s school. “where brother’s kindergarten?”, at his school. repeat, repeat, repeat. She had a little bit of a hard time when I was leaving her at preschool and needed some extra hugs, totally normal for a week off. Although, I think she knew that something was different. There was no brother at her school anymore. And she knew it. I think she really loved having him close by and seeing him on the playground.
And now – on to pictures…
And last, but not least – a picture of me holding him and him wrapping his legs and arms around me. It was wonderful to see him this evening.
~925 weeks
Tonight on the eve of the first day of kindergarten, I hope I’ve done enough, been enough, experienced enough, soaked in enough and loved you enough. Because tomorrow morning is a new beginning for you, and for all of us. They say that there are ~925 weeks in childhood (~18 years) and it feel like the first 260 went so fast. What they also say is true – the days are long but the years are fast.
Wasn’t it just yesterday that we brought you home from the hospital? Wasn’t it just yesterday that we knew that the nickname Spunky was exactly the right one? Wasn’t it just yesterday that we are finally able to keep up with your outgoing-ness and end-less energy? (oh, yeah – it did seem like just yesterday….)
But, here you are at 5 1/2 years old – ready to start your day tomorrow.
This is now my boy who I still pick up and hold and hug like he was only 2 or 3 years old. Why? Well, partly because I still can (and ~50 lbs is no small feat, my friends, and 10 times his birth weight), and partly because he still needs it sometimes, partly because he still really likes it (and so do I) and partly because he still lets me. I know someday soon, it will not happen anymore and I’ll be sad. You wrap your arms around my and your legs are so long and strong, they wrap around my waist and I barely have to hold on. I just have to prop you up on my forearms. This is also the spot where we need to have our heart-to-hearts and express our feelings when they bubble over into tears and hurt out.
(I don’t have a picture of me holding Alex like this – note to self – get one tomorrow before the walk to the bus stop…. sniff, sniff)
This is now my boy, who is so naturally athletic and curious – he will try anything – even paddle boarding – even though it was a-little-tiny-bit-to0-scary to go too deep for a while, but then was out in the “deep” water no problem in the matter of about an hour. Confident and doing it all by himself. This is like all things sports/athletics for him: basketball, T-ball, soccer, tennis, swimming, etc. My active sporty boy.
This is also now my boy, who takes his sister (convinces her with his confidence) to let him take her for a ride, and they have a blast (it’s pretty shallow here though…. just for Mama’s sake!).
This is my ham of a boy – who still makes up fun silly things to do all the time. And asks me to take a picture so he can then see the photo of himself on the back of the camera. He also likes me to do this with taking movies. Oh- I love this boy!
He also still runs through the sprinkler with me on hot days with full gusto!
Funny story – before Sara was born, Alex and I went to a playdate with 2 other moms and 3 other kids all around the same age, actually I think Alex may have been the youngest. Alex and two of the kids were just having a blast. Laughing and playing, and rolling on the ground, full belly laughs. The mom of the quiet boy asked me – are you going to get a video of this? I said no, but asked why? Well, if her son were to do this, it would be very rare and she would want to capture the pure childhood joy on camera. Oh, now I understood. I just plainly said that he’s like this all the time and really wasn’t that unusual for him at all, and it hit me at that moment how special Alex is. He is truly unique and absolutely himself each and every day.
This is my boy, who made me a mother the day he was born, but also has molded me (each and every day…) into the mother I am today. I think he is so fabulous, so outrageous, so fantastic – that sometimes I think we were made for each other.
I love you!
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