Today was Will's second day of Kindergarten - I neglected to
do this post yesterday. Perhaps it was because I was in a state of
shock/denial that my oldest baby son got into a moving vehicle (aka a
bus) without me and was delivered to a foreign place (aka school) without
me. I’ve had a pit in my stomach for
weeks concerning yesterday’s traumatic big day. It’s not that I’m not used to him being in a “school”
setting – he’s been going to daycare three days a week since he was three
months old. But this..this is
different. This is big boy
material. This is a system…a thirteen
year system. We now have to deal with
ungodly amounts of paperwork (most of it is insanely redundant), parent/teacher
conferences, scheduled school vacations and, at some point homework, potential
bullies, friend issues, clothing issues, girl issues and…I just puked a small
amount of dinner in my mouth.
It’s just that Will’s my boy, and even though we have
Beckett, he still feels like my baby. Much
to my chagrin, he’s starting to want to do everything himself. The other day he was in the tub, and when I
went into the other room, he got out, pulled the drain, dried himself off and
got dressed. I was like, “Hey, that’s MY
job!” Whenever I try to help him, he
whines, “I can do it!!” And for the most
part, he can (insert loud sigh here). However…there are still those moments where he wants me to hold him, or
cuddle with him or sit next to him when he’s eating. I really try to cherish these moments as I
know they too will soon pass. And he’ll
morph into that teenage boy who doesn’t talk except to mutter, “We’re outta
milk again.”
He was so excited yesterday before the bus came. In fact, he was driving me crazy asking what
time it was going to come. So we
proceeded down our long driveway to the bus stop, and when he got on I wanted
to jump in with him. After dropping him
off, the bus driver told me he had a hard time when they pulled away. I figured that would happen - the excitement would
melt away and he would realize I wasn’t with him. And this morning wasn’t any better – he clung
to me like a pair of pantyhose once the bus came. I literally had to force him on. It broke my heart, but I know it’ll get
better for him. He’ll get used to the “system”
and make friends and all will be good in the world. Right?
Our Handsome Son
School Boy Walking
"The Yellow Enemy"
Handsome bugger.... today is going to go great...
Posted by: K-Sea | September 05, 2008 at 08:19 AM
He's going to love school and you're going to (eventually) love this new phase of his life (or I'd bet you will).
PS--He is such a cute kid :)
Posted by: Melissa | September 05, 2008 at 04:15 PM
Awwww, what a cutie pie! And don't you worry-- he'll be just fine at school. It'll just take some adjustment time. Just stop packing those Capri Suns! Speaking from a teacher's perspective, those things are a pain in the butt to open!
Posted by: Auntie Jill | September 06, 2008 at 02:55 PM
I love this post! He's the cutest thing ever! (well, aside from you...you're pretty cute too - especially when you talk about throwing up in your mouth).
The paperwork is outrageous. Audra needs to jump on the school board and end the endless stacks of multi-colored handouts that are sent home each week!
...That's one good thing about the kids school - the paperwork is mostly online and they only send the "information sheets" home with one kid the the family. I guess private schools are cleap about making copies - which is good for the environment and good for my trash can.
You are a brave woman for "letting go", and I admire your strength and courage!
Oh, and my nine year old still holds my hand in public ..so there are a few more years of heart melting mother/son bonding.
Posted by: t5m | September 10, 2008 at 07:18 AM
Wait until you drive him to his first job. That was a killer for me!
Posted by: Mom | September 12, 2008 at 12:13 PM