The First Day

When you have kids, you typically go to great lengths to plan for their arrival. You recognize that certain activities in your life will give way to family events—preschool performances, dance recitals, sporting events, scouting programs, birthday parties…the list goes on. Family time becomes the focus of your daily scheduling. What you don’t plan for, and what takes you by surprise, is their departure.

The night before, we packed up all of the things that she would need. We carefully placed each item in her bag. There was the first check, the second check, and ultimately the last check. Did she have everything? I was sure she did. When I walked into her room to kiss her goodnight, all the goodnight kisses of the past came flooding into my brain. Where had the time gone? My little girl was all grown up.

The next morning the entire family piled into the car. I think parents and daughter alike were both excited…and nervous. I bit my bottom lip to make sure that the flow of tears didn’t begin before we dropped her off. The drive seemed to take forever. It was a very long five miles. I worried if she would be all right, if they would treat her kindly. Would she be able to open her lunch box all by herself? The knot inside my stomach continued to grow.

As we pulled into the parking lot, parents and children were holding hands, hugging, and smiling. There were backpacks and lunch boxes. I helped my baby girl out of the car as my husband gathered her bags. We all held hands as we crossed the parking lot to the door. I felt like I was in a time warp. It didn’t seem real.

When we finally reached the door to the school, I stroked her hair and held her face as I willed myself not to cry. As she watched all the other children, I noticed the excitement in my daughter’s eyes. She was ready to go. It was time. I hugged her and kissed her cheek, and then she was gone. She rushed to join the flow of children entering the school building.

What would I do now? My baby was gone. She was all grown up! Tears welled in the corner of my eyes. I looked back at the door to the school and wondered about what she might be doing and how she was getting along. Somehow I forced myself to begin the long walk back to the car.

Then I looked down at my son and quickly realized that there was still work to do! Number two had quite some time before this day would come for him. My job as Mommy was not as far done as I was beginning to think. There were still so many adventures to come. Kindergarten was just the beginning!