First Day of School

Meet the Teacher was a great day for us. We found out that Stephen has Becky Draughon for a teacher. Becky goes to church with us and she was in my bunco group. So, Stephen has a friend of ours for a teacher! AWESOME. An extra note, several of my church friends have also had her as a teacher and have LOVED her...so...SUPER! No fears that we don't have the most excellent teacher to start our year, our public school life.


SO, going into the first day of kindergarten, I didn't feel a lot of the anxiety a lot of Moms anticipate. I had several friends check up on me. I had several friends praying for me, praying for Stephen. Perhaps all of their prayers were being answered. I didn't feel a lot of anxiety and Stephen was flowing pretty well, too.

Also, I feel that Stephen is ready for school. He is reading at a basic level. He has become much more confident in social situations. He handles drop off situations wonderfully. With all of this, I didn't feel like I needed to be nervous. However-I did have to wonder if something was wrong with me...that I wasn't depressed that my child was leaving for the big public school. In fact, I was even looking forward to it.

Stephen needs a lot. No, he's not out of the normal energetic. But he is very energetic. It wears me out with Stephen's energy in one parental eye & Joshua's energy in my other eye. He and Joshua are great brothers and have a great relationship. They really love each other & I work hard on them respecting each other & use their relationship as a tool to teach the whole world. However, doing all of this is hard. I like having time alone with each of them.
I have spent days and years alone with Stephen. I held him when he was an infant. He clung to me as a toddler, I sat and played with him while he was a preschooler. And now, I look forward to having time with Joshua. And I so look forward to the time Stephen comes home-and while it may be short, I plan on spending that time focusing on him and his growth.

Walking up to the school. It was 8am...still hot!!


It looks like Stephen is starting to get shy, but, really-we were facing the sun.


Joshua and I went and hung out with Zoe and Steph. We come home & I let Joshua watch a little TV while I check my e-mail on the refinance status. I can downstairs to find Joshua asleep. That would NOT have happened with Stephen home!


The bus bringing my baby home!! Choke. I did get a knot in my throat. Sean will tell you I had a moment in the morning, too...quick one. I know many Moms are against the bus. I think it is going to work for us. Stephen really wasn't all that happy when he got home. I think he was, mostly, just really exhausted. So, I think kindergarten, Day one, was a success....then he got home. Keep reading. LOL!



Now, I sat on the couch with Stephen when he got home. I made Joshua let me talk to Stephen only. Stephen was sad on the walk home, he just kept saying "I just missed you. I missed Mommy. I wanted you with me." These are the things Stephen says in every emotional moment, though. Mild or Strong. I was trying to get a feel for how strong those feelings were. But, it became apparent I wasn't going to get a lot of information from him, so, I decided to back off and make home more normal...I told him I was going to move laundry around and then we would work on his "All About Me" poster. I hear him fighting with Joshua, and then I hear laughing. I come downstairs--they are fine in the living room. Then I see Joshua is wet & I am trying to figure out why. I figure he has spilled his apple juice...on Stephen's folder nonetheless. BAH! I walk back to the kitchen with the towel I used to clean it up and then I see Stephen playing in the sink.
"Stephen, we don't play with water in the sink. Stop that" I walk away to get the towel again to mop up the water on the floor. I was steps away & BOOM! Stephen wipes out on the tile.
This leads to a lot of crying. I then see blood. I set Stephen down & start the Mommy diagnosis. I look at the clock ... 4:30. I better call the dentist NOW. We end up at the dentist office. Dentist says he would like for us to go to pediatric dentist the next day if possible. They are even trying to get me in that day. Stephen is terrified and scream crying the whole time.
So, I don't have a good feel for what a school day does to Stephen with physical tiredness at this point. I do have a good feel for exactly how fat his lip can get.