Officially a Kindergartener

Today was Nora’s first day of kindergarten. She handled it like a champ.

She woke up a little earlier than she has been recently—around 6:30. She came into our room saying that the “Ready Confetti” her teacher had given her worked. “It really helped me!” she said. We snuggled for a few minutes and she said she was excited to go to school.

I had barely slept myself. It took me a while to fall asleep last night, and then this morning, I woke up at 4:30 and could not drift back off. Only about five hours of sleep… and feeling anxious, not knowing how the day would go.

Things happened quickly and over the next hour and a half, we got everything ready to leave. We went outside to take photos. She got annoyed with it quickly (to be expected).

The neighborhood began to come alive with the sounds of other parents and children making their way out of their houses and down the street to the bus stop. It was time. We walked, Nora confidently and excitedly leading the way.

We met up with the bus stop crew and it wasn’t long before the bus was coming down the street. As soon as I saw it, I felt the tears stinging my eyes. I brushed them off, fought them away, annoyed by my own emotions. Nora was holding it together; why couldn’t I?

The bus pulled up to our stop and Nora fell into line behind the other neighborhood kids. I gave her a quick kiss and she climbed onto the bus like it was no big deal. In fact, I had to yell to her to turn around and look at me for a quick photo. The bus driver was a sweetheart, as she made sure to remind Nora to turn, too. She yelled out at us with a smile, “Take your time, get your pictures. I totally get it!”

I lost sight of her as she walked back into the aisle. I waved aimlessly, in case she could see me but I couldn’t see her. She told me later that she sat by the window, but clearly she was on the other side of the bus. The kids were loaded up and it was time to go. The doors shut, the bus pulled away.

The tears flowed.

Vivienne may have sensed my emotions because she insisted on being held by me in that moment, when she almost always prefers Michael (she’s a Daddy’s girl, what can I do?). “Nowa?” her little voice chimed in. “Nora went to school,” I told her. “And you’re not ever allowed to grow up, okay? Just stay this little forever.”

That has, perhaps, been one of the hardest parts of this whole kindergarten thing—at least for me. The fact that Nora and Vivienne will not be together during the days anymore. Vivienne has never known more than a few hours at a time without Nora. She’s never really been without her.

Anyway, I let myself be sad for a few minutes and then I pulled myself together to be excited again. My neighbor friend and I hopped into the car and drove to the school to see the kids off of the bus. Again, I didn’t know what to expect. Did Nora freak out on the bus ride? Start crying? Was she going to be a mess?

She came down the steps like she had been doing it all of her life. Okay then. Good stuff. She was a little disoriented in the crowd so I reminded her that when she gets off the bus every day, she needs to walk inside and find her classroom. I followed her steps and guided her only when she needed it. Soon enough, we were in her classroom and it was time for me to go. I gave her a quick kiss and as I walked out, I turned to look—she never even looked back at me. Girlfriend so had this under control.

In the middle of the day, I got an email from her teacher with a photo of her smiling, playing with some little blocks at her desk. “Having a great first day!” she reported. YES. So good for a parent’s soul to get an update like that on a day like this.

The day CRAWLED. I couldn’t wait to leave work to go pick her up from the after-school program she’s at.

When I did first lay eyes on Nora again, she was standing in a line of students waiting to go outside. I immediately noticed she looked like a zombie. Hot. Tired. And maybe upset? I noticed she was clinging to my leg, something she hadn’t been doing all day.

Eventually, she confessed to me in tears on the way home that she had been missing me. Not during the school day, but after school. She said she got upset and cried because I didn’t come to get her when she expected me to. I know now that she didn’t fully grasp the new routine. When her teacher said at the end of the day that it was “time to go home,” she took it to heart, not remembering/realizing that she had somewhere else to go to spend some more time before she’d be coming home. Poor thing.

But that was our only hiccup. Well, that and the fact that I sent her with apple slices for a snack that apparently “got yucky” due to the crazy heat in the classroom (it was near 90 degrees today and there is no A/C in the school), so her teacher gave Nora her own apple to snack on. (I need to get some of those really thin ice packs, stat.) Oh, and she lost one of her pretty new hair bows. And Michael forgot to put the straw in her Thermos so she “couldn’t figure out [her] cup.” HAHAHA. We told her tonight that we’re all new at this and we’re all learning. We’ll all do better tomorrow, with everything.

Overall, though, the day was a serious success. She says she’s ready to go back tomorrow, and I’m hoping that she’ll adjust quickly to the after-school routine. We celebrated with ice cream.

We’re ready to tackle the second day of kindergarten tomorrow.