An Auspicious Start?

Linus started kindergarten yesterday.  It was weird.  Kindergarten seems like such an abstract concept when you first have a baby and then suddenly there it is.  I saw lots of writings on Facebook about parents crying.  I wondered if that would be me.  It was not.

The morning started with Linus refusing to come out from under the covers.  He did not want to get up because he was not allowed to have any screen time.   Linus has been talking about being almost in kindergarten since last fall.  He would tell anyone, whether they asked or not.  He had visions of being big man on campus at St. John.  And then we decided to move.  His excitement was replaced by nervousness.  

First Day of School take 1

He was very stoic as we got ready to leave the house.

 Once inside the classroom, he quickly found his seat.  He was all business.

There were no hugs, no kisses, no tears, not even a wave good bye.  Maybe I would have been more emotional if I was not wearing a baby and fighting to stay upright as Eileen pulled on me.  And maybe if getting ready to move in a week in a half was not occupying my mind.  I feel bad.  I probably should have cried.  I guess I will have to save those tears for when Robin starts kindergarten.

We left Linus and headed to the auditorium to visit all the booths and partake of the refreshments.  I was pretty impressed.  There was a long table with sign ups for every sort of volunteer opportunity imaginable, another table to turn in all the forms and fees, one for church ministry stuff (they do some cool stuff), sports, uniform exchange, fundraising, and more.  I was able to learn a lot and ask questions.  I really have to hand it to the school.   This, combined with the new family orientation and new family bbq, really made us feel very welcome and gave us a much better understanding of the school and parish.

Despite the excellent instruction at orientation, I flunked carpool pick up.  Linus was still grumpy.  Eileen was melty.  The next several hours (it was a half day of school) were not pleasant. I will leave it at that.

First Day of School take 2

Today I got to try it all over again because it was Eileen's first day!  Can I just say how much I love uniforms.  Love may be an understatement.  Thankfully, everyone woke up in better moods.

Eileen's favorite way to take a picture.

With a unicorn rainbow backpack in hand, she was ready to face preschool.

Linus was willing to hop in the picture (sort of, he kept his distance).  You can see how adoringly Eileen looks at him.

Really, nothing much has changed.  See first day of school two years ago.

During drop off this morning, Linus informed me, "I don't need you," and walked off to his classroom by himself while I took Eileen to hers.  Well then!

After depositing Eileen, who was quiet but engaged immediately, Robin and I celebrated with a pumpkin spice latte and pedicure.  He was kind enough to let one of the nail ladies snuggle him.  We went to the park.  We went shopping.  It was heavenly.

A beautiful September morning, coffee, and spending quality time with my baby?  It was lovely.  I think he enjoyed it too.   During naps I studied up on carpool (what the school refers to for the orchestration of pick up and drop off).  I was determined not to fail.  I give myself a B.  Hopefully, I will fully figure it out soon.  Oye.

We capped off our second day of first day with having everyone in bed before 7 pm.  Dave and I can tell Linus is already loving kindergarten.  I am loving having him in school all day long and his positive change in attitude.   I think it's going to be a good year.