First Day of School!

The day had finally come. I woke up this morning with butterflies in my stomach, fighting the urge to vomit out of pure nervousness. I think I was more nervous for Noah to enter preschool than for any of my first days of classes.

He woke up extremely excited asking if it was time to go yet about every fifteen minutes. We made pancakes for breakfast, putting chocolate chips in some and blueberries in others. Finally the big moment came. He grabbed his backpack, we grabbed the diaper bag, Ellie in her car seat, the information papers and the camera.

He stood on the front porch waiting for me to take a picture. I turned the camera on to find a flashing battery with the words "Battery Empty" sprawled below it.

After dashing back inside, yelling in horror - which then sparked Tim to freak out as well and start yelling - I found three batteries. Using one of the old ones that was still in there, I threw in the other three and ran back outside.

It turned on.

I have maybe never felt such relief.

I got a couple shots of him outdoors and then we loaded everyone into the van. The school is less than a mile from our house so we were there in about two minutes. He waited his turn after two other kids to get his picture next to the Kinderkirk Preschool sign (all of us parents were armed with cameras and/or video cameras.) Then we headed inside.

Tim took him to use the potty after we got into the building. Afterwards, it took much persuasion from the both of us to get him to hang up his backpack, promising it would still be there when he finished school. He marched into the classroom, turned around and said "Come on MomDad." (He refers to us as "MomDad" when talking to the both of us or when not really paying attention to who he is talking to.) We started to explain that we couldn't go to school with him but he was already off playing with cars. We had to actually go into the classroom to say good-bye to him, during which he barely looked up to give us a kiss.

I got a bit teary, although not as bad as last night when I sat in bed and bawled to Tim.

During our parents' meeting after we dropped them off, I was the only one to raise my hand when asked if anyone cried that morning.

Talk about feeling like an idiot.

Our meeting lasted about a half hour and then Tim and I killed time by running errands in Grand Haven and stopping at Great Harvest Bread Co. for a slice of bread (Pecan Swirl for him and Apple Crumble for me) and some hot chocolate.

We picked him up to the words of, "I have fun at preschool."

He told us he sang songs, played with toys, had a snack (yogurt, crackers and juice) and colored. He showed us his pictures and talked about how much he loved preschool.

I hope he realizes this isn't an every day thing.

I also can't wait until Thursday when I can drop him off and then come back and actually enjoy myself during the two hours without wondering how he is doing the entire time.

I feel like I can breathe again.