She came running into our room at 6:30am ON. THE. DOT.
"Daddy, Daddy, how many minutes until we leave for school???"
"90." he said through a half smile and closed eyes.
He pulled her up into bed with him and tried to snuggle with her, which lasted for about .9 seconds. "OK, I'm going to go get dressed now!!" She said, and ran out of the room just as quickly as she had entered it.
Hubby Lovey rolled over, squeezed my hand, and smiled at me. I smiled back as reassuringly as possible, but I was already fighting back the tears. It's not that I was sad, in fact, sadness was the furthest from any emotion that I was feeling. I was just...emotional. Everyone tells you, "They grow up so fast," and of course you always shake your head and say, "I know." But on days like today, the reality of that statement really sets in.
Our girl is in Kindergarten. KINDERGARTEN! Wasn't she just learning to walk yesterday?
I threw my feet over the side of the bed, grabbed my phone and tip-toed to her bedroom door.
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| Uniform on! |
There she was, putting her socks on, looking like a really big girl. I ducked behind the door and gulped back the tears again. By this time Hubby Lovey and the Love Bug were out of bed and the house was hustling and bustling with all the morning activities. I quickly got dressed then ran downstairs to get breakfast started and lunch packed.
ZuZu was right on my heels but informed me, before we reached the kitchen, "My tummy is too excited for breakfast." I gave her a bagel and a slice of cheese. She ate half the cheese and one bite of the bagel. I wasn't too worried, I knew the adrenaline of the day would get her through despite the lack of calories (at least that's what I told myself). Then I started to doubt that train of thought, so I made her drink a glass of milk (that's filling...right??). So with her "excited tummy" filled with as much food as it could handle, I shooed her upstairs to put her shoes on.
And that's when I saw it...the lunch box. I had set it out on the counter last night to remind myself to pack her lunch (Hey, when it's your first time ever packing lunch for your kid, you want to make sure you remember to do it!). Something about that lunch box made me completely loose it. The floodgates opened.
With tears streaming down my face I grabbed the string cheese, fruit cup, yogurt and sandwich fixings out of the refrigerator and began packing her lunch. I don't know what it was about that lunch box. Maybe it was the fact that I couldn't stop visualizing her sitting at the school picnic tables eating her lunch...would she be eating alone? Would the other kids sit next to her? Maybe it was because this is the first time I had ever packed her a lunch that she wouldn't eat with me. Would she eat everything? Would it stay cold long enough? Maybe it's because I knew this was the first of many lunches I would pack during the course of her school years. Whatever the reason was, I stood there by myself in the kitchen crying and praying.
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| First ever school lunch. Yogurt, string cheese, fruit cup of peaches, Wheat Thins, and a butterfly shaped turkey and cheese sandwich! Complete with a note from Daddy and Mommy. |
As I dried my tears and finished packing her lunch, the whole family came downstairs. We still had a few minutes before we needed to head to school...just enough time for a little photo shoot.
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| She did this pose on her own. |
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| Had to get the Ariel backpack in there |
With Photo Shoot #1 taken care of, we headed to school....for Photo Shoot #2.
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| The Daddy and his oldest |
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| ZuZuBe and Mommy |
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| Sisters |
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| Us. |
Then she saw her teacher...
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| Cuteness |
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| At her desk! |
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| Sissy |
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| Mommy and Daddy with our biggest girl |
As we snapped this last picture the teacher said, "OK Mommies and Daddies say your goodbyes, we've got a busy day ahead of us!" That's when it happened again. Tight throat. Eyes burning. Nose tickling. I felt them coming. The tears. I grabbed my purse and threw on the biggest pair of sunglasses I own. I gave my daughter the biggest hug and kiss I could and choking back tears I said, "Have the best day EVER! I'll be back to pick you up in a few hours. I CAN'T WAIT to hear about your day!" She squeezed me back and said, "OK, Momma. I'll remember every thing so I can tell you all about it!" Phew, she didn't notice I was about to do the ugly cry. (The ugly cry is when you fall into hysterics. You know where it's not a cute single tear rolling down your face. It's a furrowed brow, snot running down your face, and mascara smeared every. You know the one...it's ugly.)
With that, I ran out the door. Poor Hubby Lovey and the Bug weren't quite sure what I was doing but they said their goodbyes and met me outside. By that time I had composed myself. Hubby Lovey gave me a big hug and said, "Good job, Momma!" (He knows my emotional tendencies.) I squeezed him back, took a deep breath, and hand-in-hand we walked away from her classroom and off the school campus...
6 hours later, I returned with the Bug and Auntie Kissy in tow. We saw her class in a single file line, walking to the pick up area. When we picked her up, the Bug ran straight up to her, threw her arms around her sister and exclaimed, "I missed you!"
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| A little blurry but still sweet. |
ZuZu was SO happy to see Auntie Kissy (silly Mommy forgot to take a picture of the 2 of them). We piled into the car and off to 7-Eleven for some First Day of School Slurpees! After we dropped off Auntie Kissy, the car got really quiet...ZuZu was tired. But I couldn't help but sneak in another question before she fell asleep on the way home.
"So my Love, do you think this will be a great school year?"
"Yeah, Momma, this is going to be a great year."
"Are you excited to go back tomorrow?"
"I'm super-de-duper excited to go back tomorrow."
And there it was. First Day of Kindergarten. Done.
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