Thursday, March 31, 2005

What happened to my little boy?

Today I dropped my older son T off at school. This is something I do every weekday morning, but today I really looked at him as he walked in the school.....My mind drifted back to the day we came to meet his kindergarten teacher. He was so excited and I fought back the tears. I knew he was ready for this new step in his life, but I wasn't sure if I was ready to allow him to make that move.

We walked in the classroom--it was all decorated with Blue's Clues and paw prints. T held on to my hand like it was his lifeline, until he saw one of his buddies from church. As soon as he saw Andrew, he took off and they checked out everything in the room. I stood there watching him flit from one center to another and suddenly this woman came over and introduced herself to me. She was so sweet--I guess she could see the uncertainty on my face. I was so happy and excited about T starting school, but on the other hand, I knew that meant he was no longer my toddler... Would he still want to climb on my lap and cuddle while we read a book or watch tv together? She asked me which one was my child--I pointed to the adorable blue-eyed blonde haired little boy that was laughing at something Andrew had said. She then told me it would be ok...she'd take great care of him and he'd learn and grow so much that year. She handed me a little baggie with a poem about taking care of my child. It also had a kleenex, bandaid, tea bag and other little things in it that she said were the mom's survival kit instead of the students. LOL Then the tears started--I tried to attribute it to the fact that I was pregnant with K at the time, but I'm sure I would have cried anyway. And that was the day before school actually started! The next day, I dropped him off at school and cried all the way to my school. I couldn't wait for school to get out so that I could go pick him up. The first thing he said was, "Mom! they have a library inside the school!!" LOL Just what a teacher likes to hear--that her kid liked to read! :o)
Year after year, I've dreaded and anticipated the first day of school....I was excited for him, yet hated to admit that my little boy was growing up. Today, when I dropped him off, he stopped at my window, so I rolled it down. He leaned in and gave me a kiss, told me he loved me and then said, "mmmm you smell good today!" I laughed and asked him, " Ok, what do you want?" He just laughed and said "I just want you to know I'm glad you're my mom." Once again, I cried all the way to school. :o)

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