The Big First Day of School ~

Hunter and Kyleigh - ready to go at 7:30
Addison and Preslie ready to go at 8:45
Preslie at her table getting ready to work a puzzle~

Well, we all survived the first day! Actually the kids thrived and I survived but more on that later~ All four of them were happy and/or excited to go ~What a relief that is - I'd hate to have them sad or crying any day, but especially the 1st day. Addison and Preslie both got the teachers they were wanting, Kyleigh is on the team she wanted with the teachers she wanted and as an added bonus has Ms. Shoemake for last hour and gets to be her assistant in the library, one of her favorite places in the world! Hunter was satisfied with his classes, has some buddies in all of them and was happy to get out at 1:30 to go to football practice.

I only get 20 days to take all four kids to school. After that Hunter will be driving and on some days possibly will take Kyleigh and drop her off since they are at schools right beside each other. We'll deal with that when the time comes. It's pretty uneventful dropping them both off because obviously the days of walking them in and snapping a picture are gone ~ So, that was how it went - we dropped off in the parking lot and they were good to go~

Rick met us an hour later to walk Addison and Preslie in - then in the parking lot Addison decided to go in on her own which she happily did. She feels like this school year is just a continuation of last year because her teacher looped up with the class which is great! We start walking down the sidewalk wish Preslie - she is all smiles, has her Hello Kitty Backpack on, we've discussed all things I think we needed to cover and she is just absolutely beaming with joy ! As we get partway down the sidewalk she looks up and says "mommy, thank you for letting me come to kindergarten" - I just about cracked up. The lady in front of me turned and chucked and said 'letting her' and I said, well, she's the baby of four and left it at that- So, it was just hilarious to me! Anyway, I was very very brave! : ) We walked in her room, she hung her backpack up, looked for the chair with her name on the back and gave me a hug and a kiss, gave Rick a hug and a kiss and went to sit down. I asked her if I could snap a quick picture to which she happily agreed (see above) and I took it, we said see you soon and we left. As I said, I was really brave UNTIL I walked out those doors and then I lost it.

Rick was sorta taken back - he knew I'd been stressed and anxious but it caught him off guard. I've never cried taking one of our children to kindergarten but that was before. I only had to leave them for 2.5 hrs and I always had a baby at home to keep me occupied ~ Not this time. But the tears just flowed - he gave me a hug and some encouraging words and I was thankful to have him there - Then some more really neat things happened...........

Gods provisions! The first person I walk through the outside doors was a dear, sweet friend of mine who was having her own anxiety with her own children but still had time to stop and hug me and speak some words of understanding and encouragement! As we walked up the sidewalk Rick then saw one of my very treasured friends car parked by mine! We hugged, he left for work and with tears pouring down I crossed that parking lot to the arms of my sweet friend who knew exactly how I felt. She'd been down that road I'd just walked and is in the midst of her own huge changes with her own precious children. No need for words, just both of our tears and sobs broke the silence. She knew exactly how I felt without me saying a word because she is a mom! There are some things that only a mommy can feel and understand and I am so so thankful that God knew and provided and showed me His awesome love through my family and friends all day long! At a quick meeting another one of my sweet friends smiled and across the room made me feel okay that I was struggling! She also knew because she had taken her baby to all day school before ~ When I got home my sweet mom was here cleaning my house so I would have time to just relax or do something fun! What a thoughtful mom she is and knew how much I love coming in to a clean house - albeit a very empty and quiet clean home! Throughout the day I had phone calls and emails from so many of my friends ~ I got to eat lunch with my bff and the day was actually a good one. I am blown away by the outpouring of love and concern from the people in my life and amazed that amidst their own lives, their own issues, their own changes, their own agendas - they thought of me and how huge this was for me - regardless that millions of moms do this seemingly simple event every year they knew it would be a hard time for me! I am truly blessed beyond measure. I am in awe of the amazing people in my life! I hope I can be as good of friend to them as they are to me!

So, day 2 is almost 1/2 over and everyone was happy this morning. Preslie was not exhausted like I expected and she was also very happy and pleasant all evening so I am thrilled! That was one of my biggest concerns. Hopefully that trend will continue ~ I am grateful they are happy, healthy and safe!