Milestone Alert: Kathryn's a First Grader!

Well, I wasn't sure I could do it, but I persevered. I put my baby on a school bus this morning and watched her ride away from me to the wonderful new adventure of first grade. I had such mixed emotions about the whole thing. The child has been ready for this for a very long time and has been asking me for 2 years when she would finally be able to ride a bus. It seemed like it was forever away, but man, did the day arrive quickly. She has been so excited to start first grade that she was just about to burst. She woke me at 6:50 this morning asking if it was time to get dressed for school yet. I told her she had some time, but she said, "I'm going to go ahead and get dressed now."

By 7:30 AM, she was asking about every 3 minutes if it was time to go, to which I'd respond with the new number of minutes until her departure time. "No, honey, you've got another 55 minutes before it's time to go" and so on until 8:25. We went to the garage to wait for the bus as it was raining. We took the opportunity to snap a few pictures of Kathryn with her siblings and she and Ama, who came to see her off on her first day of school. When the bus arrived, I gave her a quick kiss and an I love you and she was the first to hop aboard and park it in the first seat behind the driver. I got some video footage, but it's a little jumbled and I didn't manage to snap a picture in time, but I'll see what I can salvage and post in an update. As the bus pulled away, my eyes welled and I had to head back into the house. My baby. I thought I'd be fine since she's been so excited, but it turns out it didn't make it that much easier to let her go. This little life I've nurtured and protected for 6 1/2 years heading off into the world without me; I'm expected to trust others to care for her like I would when I know that's not how it works. I have to believe that she will be fine and she will learn and grow and blossom.

A little while after she left, I was tidying the kitchen and I started writing this entry in my head and I started tearing up again. I'd like to say that was it for the tears, but it wasn't. It hit me at least one more time during the day. At around 10:30, we left to run some errands and I decided to drop off some paperwork to the school and take a peek at my girl. The school is open to visitors so I signed in and got a sticker. I looked in the window of her classroom and there she was, listening attentively to her teacher. All of a sudden, she looked right at me, got a big grin on her face and waved. I waved back and blew her a kiss, which she caught and returned and then she looked back at her teacher. They got up as a group and headed to the books and she looked out again and gave me another wave and a sweet smile. I sighed in relief and departed after only a 4 minute visit.

We stayed busy this afternoon shopping, running errands and napping (that child got me up early!), but by the time we were waiting for her to return, I had a knot in my stomach. It didn't help that they were over 30 minutes late, but the rational side of me explained that of course they'd be late the first few days until everyone figures out the routine. The bus finally appeared and I snapped a quick picture of her getting off, but alas, the shutter hadn't opened all the way. I'll have to try again tomorrow! Mom video taped her return and I was so relieved to give her a big hug and kiss. My baby was home safely, thank goodness! Now, I've just got to do this how many more times...?

She excitedly told us about her day. She had a great time and seemed very busy right off the bat. Her teacher, Miss Newman, seems to be on the ball and I've heard great things about her. We could tell at the Open House on Monday that she's very organized and Kathryn confirmed today that she's very nice. She said when they depart they have to do one of the following: give her a hug, a high five or a hand shake. Since Miss Newman said hugs are her favorite, Kathryn gave her one on her way out. I think it's going to be a great year for her, and for me if I ever get used to putting her on that bus. When she spoke to Nate this evening (he's in West Virginia on a job this week) he asked if the bus was stupid or stinky (a reference from a Junie B. Jones book we read to her) and she said it wasn't stupid or stinky. She had a blast and she's ready to do it again tomorrow. I'm not so sure I am, but I guess I'll just have to follow her lead on this one. My baby is a first grader!