The day after..

Madison had a wonderful day touring the elementary school yesterday. The kids were each provided a name tag lanyard which included their name, Kindergarten teacher, and bus number. She wore the tag proudly through the halls of the “big kid school”. Everyone she ran into asked her the same question, “are you Megan’s sister?” There are some children who would be annoyed by this but not my little one. She takes it as a badge of honor, she is famous because she is Meg’s little sister. Hey, whatever works right?

The highlight of the day was when her group was taken into a 3rd grade classroom, the very same one that holds her big sister. She was so excited to see Megan sitting at her desk. Meg fielded questions for the rest of the day about her little sister from both friends and teachers alike. Both seemed to equally enjoy the attention.

I always joke that I have nothing from my childhood. A few pictures but that’s about it. I was the third child for one and with my parents being divorced and my mother not being the warmest person in the world she was not a big saver of things. I have gone to the other extreme. I have funny papers that my girls have written over the years, pictures drawn and special items that mean something from the time each was born. They are kept in what the girls have termed my “keeper boxes”. When Megan was in Kindergarten, her teacher put together a booklet of things showing the growth the kids had from the time they started school. She asked that we write a note to include. Frank wrote the note and we included a picture from the first day of school.

Before Madison left for school yesterday, she was greeted to breakfast by a note written by her father at her place at the table. He actually started working on it weeks ago and asked me for a picture from the fist week of school. She read it while chopping on a banana. I feel that you can never express enough the love we feel for our kids. From someone who grew up rarely hearing the words “I love you”, I have come to learn, you can never say them enough!

Way way back……

Today is a big day for my youngest. The day she gets to board a bus to head to her “home school” for a visit. Our district is very large. We have a building designated just for Kindergarten. From there the kids branch off into one of 5 elementary schools.

Today the kids all arrive to school like normal and then board buses for a visit to their assigned elementary. They will tour the school, meet some teachers and eat snack in the cafeteria. It is a great program allowing the kids to ease into the next step of their education. Madison has been talking about this day for weeks!

After a long weekend she was very sleepy this morning and did not want to get out of bed. I reminded her what today was and up she leaped. She had a little extra pep in her step. As she boarded her bus I was left a little sad. My baby is just a few months away from starting first grade. She is no longer a baby.

A happy little girls preparing for a big day!

One thing I found very funny was the conversation I overheard as the girls were eating breakfast. Megan, who is in third grade, went on this very same tour a few years ago. As the big sister I guess she was attempting to help the little one’s nerves. It started with the line, “Way way back when I visited….”.

I did not say a word but it made me laugh. Way way back 3 years ago. Things move so fast in life now. I sometimes long to return to a day when 3 years could be referred to as way way back instead of the blink of an eye that it is now.

I can not wait until she gets home…I can only hope it went as well as she envisioned! My big girl!

When your children cry

So Madi tried out for the travel soccer team. She is young so we tried to prepare her that she may not make it. She did great at the try outs fast, alert and on the ball. There were not too many girl so we fully expected her to make a team. Technically she was better than many of the girls who were there.

The announcements are made on-line, delayed several times by well over a week making the waiting a real headache.They finally posted Saturday night. She did not make the team along with 3 other girls. I had to tell her the news. She was so upset. We had tears for a few minutes, we laid on her bed and I held onto her. There was nothing I could do but hug her tight. Mommy could not fix this one, for as much as I try sometimes the reality sets in that I am not a super hero. :-(.

Yesterday we were having some friends over for a BBQ. As I was running around getting things ready she asked for a special request. Could I read her our “special” book. We have had a book since they were babies that I love to read to them and they have always loved to hear. I still read it each year the night before the first day of school. Of course I could stop what I was doing so Madison and I settled in on the sofa The title of the book is “Oh My Baby, Little One”.

Although I was not sending her off to school for the first time, I guess since we have made this book such an important part of our lives it helped her process.

“But still this love is with you, like the leaves are with the trees, like the sand is with the sandbox, like the kite is with the breeze.”

It was not to long after that our friends arrived and the kids were happily splashing around in a rather cold pool. The weather was not what we would have hoped for to kick off pool season but for the young it is never to chilly to swim. The disappointment of the soccer team was gone in its place a young girl with not a care in the world, as it should be!

And all was right with the world!