Yesterday was the very first day of Pre-K ... and just so we are clear from the beginning, no I was not on the crying mom’s list however, I wasn’t on the happy mom list either. Bittersweet.
The Friday before the start of school, parents and kids were asked to come in to meet the teacher, play with new classmates and decorate the lockers. Yes, you read that right, decorate the locker.
We were surrounded by pink and Hello Kitty things while my little guy put up dinosaur decals and magnets on the inside of his door. Nap mats get hung up, spare clothes go on top, backpack will go on the hook and lunches will go on the bottom (so the little guy can reach).
Forward to Monday, we arrive and make sure everything is in it’s place within the locker and walk into the classroom. My son, told me he was going to go play and off he ran, no hug, no sad looks, no worries. I am extremely happy that he was so comfortable to be independent, I’ve been a stay at home mom for the last couple of months, but I can say a small part of me desperately wanted a little hug. You may wonder why I didn’t walk over to him and give him a small hug but I thought it may signal to him that I was leaving him all day or maybe the bigger reason, I may get tears in my eyes. No one needed that.
Throughout the day I wondered what he was doing, if he was making new friends, all the normal stuff that goes through a parent’s head.
I was 20 minutes early for pick-up...just in case. After the excruciating time of waiting, the little guy came out, arms crossed trying his hardest to have a grumpy look on his face. I did the normal thing and asked how school was, the teacher telling me he did really well, noticing the two good behavior stamps on each hand, so why was he trying to act like he didn’t enjoy himself. Leaning down I asked him what’s wrong and he is as serious as can be and said “they didn’t let me play.” Keep in mind they had 20 minutes of playground recess.
I played 20 questions with him on the ride home asking all about school. When I ran of out questions, he asked me to ask him more. He talked to both my mom and dad telling them all about school, who he talked to, about his teacher, what he had for lunch, etc. Then when Dad got home, he talked about it all again. As I was tucking him in for bed later Monday night, we hugged, we prayed and he whispered “mom, I really like school, when can I go again.”
He goes Wednesday.
