And, God bless him, he was ready. I mean, the kid is 6 years old (but acts like he's 16) and has been in preschool for four years.
We talked about it all summer long. What the schedule would be like, new things he could do.
We attended all the events -- the round ups, the picnics, the back to school night, the camps.
We met the teacher, we brought in our school supplies early. He was set.
He woke up with a smile and said "It's my first day of school!!" He brushed his teeth and got dressed on his own, asking for only a little help with his belt and "dress shoes". He said that the uniform was "not so bad" (I picked my jaw up off the floor...usually asking this kid to wear anything but gym shorts results in a certified big boy tantrum). He commented that he was pretty sure that wearing white crew socks with dress shoes and shorts looked funny. I proudly agreed...and told him such a fashion faux pas was only acceptable at school (can't miss an opportunity to teach such an important life lesson).
He couldn't eat his breakfast...he was too excited.
I was 98.5% ready. I had spent the preceding months double checking the school supply list, reviewing the uniform requirements, figuring out the logistics of the "new schedule".
Despite my preparations, I couldn't help staring at that little square on my calendar (yes, I still use a paper day planner...) marked "first day of K" and sort of wishing it would never come. I was excited for Noonie and I knew he would love it...but in the back of my mind I knew that after that day things would never be quite the same. His world would be bigger. He wouldn't fall under that toddler or preschooler category any more. And after kindergarten, the years literally count themselves down...
But, honestly, today was awesome. He was so eager, so full of pure excitement and happiness.
He was not sad or scared, he was confident and ready to take on the day.
And I felt truly happy. Sure, my eyes welled up a little...but I'm nearly 6 months pregnant...so, let's be serious - that is my response to just about everything.
And I realized that while I had been working so hard over the past couple of months to make sure that everything would be perfect for HIM today...in the end it was Sonu who made today perfect for ME. I was not sad or scared, I was confident and ready to take on the day.
And, as usual, this little guy manages to give more to me than I can ever hope to give in return.
And the icing on the cake...sharing this experience with my best friend. As Shikhar and I walked out of school and back to our cars we marveled at how fast time flies....that it seems like just minutes ago he was our little chubby faced babe. But it was fun. One of those experiences where only the two of us knew exactly how the other was feeling. And those are awesome moments.
And when I came to pick Sonu up after school, little brothers in tow, he gave me a giant smile and a huge wave. He gave his teacher a high five (apparently the check out system...which is rad) and turned to me and said,
"I kinda wish I could stay longer..."
So, yeah. First day of K...we rocked it.
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