Misery Loves Company

...Or so they say. So I'm going to share with you a poem that was given to us on the first day of school along with a stern, finger-in-my-face instruction not to read it until we got home. If this doesn't affect you, you're made of stone. And I'm going to let YOU drop Kendall off for her first day of kindergarten!

The First Day

I gave you a little wink and a smile

As you entered my room today.

For I know how hard it is to leave

And know your child must stay.

You've been with him for five years now

And have been a loving guide,

But now, alas, the time has come

To leave him at my side.

Just know that as you drive away

And tears down your cheeks may flow

I'll love him as I would my own

And help him learn and grow.

For as a parent, I too know

How quickly the years do pass

And once it was my turn

To take my child to class.

So please put your mind at ease

And cry those tears no more.

For I will love him and take him in

When you leave him at my door.

I listened well and didn't open that paper until I got home, after which the tears flowed and flowed. I'm pretty sure I saw a glisten in Chip's eye as he read it as well. Cooper couldn't have been more excited about his first day. He ran in the school at full speed, smiled at the teacher and showed Daddy the green tractor that he claimed to be his favorite part of the classroom. Everything was going well, I was concentrating hard on Kendall, writing a cafeteria check, and anything else that would keep my mind off crying. When I announced it was time to go, Cooper started crying. So, you can probably guess what I did. The teacher's assistant called me about 15 minutes later saying that he had cried for about 1 minute and was participating in the group activity as she spoke. I later learned that his teacher had asked for his help in filling all the boy's water bottles, which has been his morning job ever since. We are fortunate enough to have two teacher's assistants living right beside us and we've gotten a few updates about how great he's doing. It's been quite a change to not be able to just pick up the phone and ask how he's doing or at least walk in at the end of the day to get him and talk to the teacher. I'm not so sure I like it!!

In the days since that first, Cooper has requested to get out of the car and not be walked in by Daddy in the morning. That was quite a shock, but it's safe to say he loves school. On his second day, while waiting for everyone to get in their cars, Cooper's teacher walked by and talked to him through the window. His grin was the biggest I'd ever seen cross his face. I said "you really like Mrs. Johnson, don't you?" And he said "No! I LOVE her!!" As a parent, you just can't ask for anything better than that!

Life has definitely changed. We've gotten signed up for soccer for Cooper, started ballet for Kendall, Cooper started choir at church on Mondays and our extremely different schedule of picking Cooper up at 2:25 has drastically changed our daily life. I'm assuming at some point this all becomes normal and a lot less difficult!

Brother wants nothing to do with Sister's kisses on his first day of big school!