I knew I wanted it to be special. Perfect. Different.
A day unlike all the other days in Noah's life.
Today was Noah's first day of Kindergarten.
As my husband likes to say, "I tend to go overboard" on special occasions. And the 1st day of Kindergarten most definitely falls into the category of "special occasions"!
After all, it's a once in a lifetime event... your firstborn child goes to his first day of school only ONE time!
And so I had several special surprise things in mind for this momentous morning.
Special snapshots of Noah buttoning his uniform shirt for the first time...
A bedroom door decorated with streamers and balloons...
A yummy pancake breakfast...
Special "back to school" cookies for after school...
A cute gift box for the teacher...
And of course, I anticipated that I would shed a few tears as I watched my baby boy walk into his first day of real, big boy school. The standard reminder that my baby no longer a baby and was entering a new stage of life.
None of this happened!
Instead, I spent the night before Noah's big day in the Emergency Room because my eye had swollen shut and refused to open.
After getting home from the ER at nearly 11 pm, I used the antibiotic cream inside my eyelids and consequently thought I was going to die from the burning PAIN!
Thankfully, my mom came to the rescue and ironed Noah's clothes for me.
But the cute gift box for the teacher and the streamer decorations...
Well, they are still sitting inside the Party City bag.
I got no sleep.
Again.
There was no special pancake breakfast.
Plain and simple... this just was NOT what I had planned!
Nevertheless, Vance drove us to school because I could not open my eyes.
Noah was all smiles in the car. We arrived with 4 minutes to spare.
As I walked Noah inside, I attempted to keep my eyes open long enough to take pictures of this important milestone.
We arrived.
Miss Johnson met us at the door.
The classroom was quiet. There were not little toddler-like people chitter chatting around the room as there was in the preschool classroom.
Everyone was dressed the same, sitting quietly at tables.
Noah politely handed his flowers to his teacher saying "these are for you."
He smiled for one last picture and bravely walked inside the room, hung up his backpack, put his name tag around his neck, and walked to the table with the other children.
He never looked back.
Not once.
It was a strange feeling. I wasn't sure I wanted to leave, but there wasn't a window I could secretly watch through, so I had no choice but to walk back out those same doors.
I thought I should be crying.
And for a brief moment, I felt a lump well up inside my throat.
But the tears that rolled down my face were not the tears I had anticipated... they were tears of pain from eyes that were in misery!
Instead of going to pick up the special Back to School cookies, I headed straight to the minor emergency room, and then to the eye doctor, and then to the pharmacy. With dilated eyes, a tear stained face, and a headache to boot, we headed back to pick Noah up from his special 1st day.
He walked out in a single file line.
His shirt was untucked and he looked a little bit confused.
He was greeted with a big hug from his Sissy and he cheerfully showed us the contents of his School Tour Scavenger Hunt.
Thanks to the numbing drops, I was able to open my eyes better and was happy to see that he had had FUN on his first day of real school!
He anxiously showed us his "1st Phonics paper" and told us about the school tour.
We headed home.
It was over.
He and I had officially conquered that "once in a lifetime" milestone.
It might not have happened like I wanted it to, but it happened nonetheless! Different.? It definitely was. Perfect? Not by my definition. But I suppose it happened exactly as it was meant to happen.
And although my tears from this morning were tears of a different variety, the ones I am shedding as I type these words of reflection are the real ones... the ones I have anticipated for such a long time.
My baby boy is a Kindergartner.
And I'm excited, baffled, and a bit sad all at the same time!
3 comments:
Oh dear friend,
Is it bad that I am laughing and crying at this post? You are too funny although no intentionally I am sure! I don't know where to begin...this has been one heck of a day, huh? I must say that Noah is so, so handsome in his uniform! He's the cutest little guy!
Your eyes, on the other hand, look painful! I hope you're feeling better soon. Ouch!!!
Love all your pictures!!! Oh, and I am sure his teacher appreciated the flowers just as much as the perfect first day of K5 gift you had planned! You amaze me with your generosity...even in times like these! :)
Love you~ Rebecca
Hey girl, thought I'd comment back here too about A Mother's Rule. You really should read it. You can take away lots of good things from it, even if you don't use everything. I didn't follow it word-for-word by any means. And it is a process, not something you need to do all at once. The first thing I did was find some concrete times for our family to pray. After about a month of that I decided to jump in and do an actual "Rule". I can email it to you if you want to give you an idea how I set it up (and if you are familiar with Excel). I just made columns for all of us, and then the rows are labeled with times in 1/2 hour increments. I basically looked at our days and filled in from there. I didn't change a whole lot of our "schedule" per se, just laid everything out so I could see and anticipate, and be able to think about things before I do them and consciously offer them to God. And it's not like you have to live by what it says, something gets missed, things slide, NOT the end of the world. That's why it's a rule, and not a schedule. Anyways, let me know...
Also, here are some prayers I found (on an Orthodox Christian site of all places, but I thought they seemed very Catholic) to offer before or after going about a task. I printed them off and put them on my fridge.
PRAYERS BEFORE OR AFTER ANY TASK
+++ Prayers Before Any Task +++
Lord Jesus Christ, my God, You have said, "Apart from Me you can do nothing." In faith I embrace Your words, Lord, and I entreat Your goodness. Help me to carry out the work I am about to begin, and to bring it to completion. To You I give glory, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Almighty God, our Help and Refuge, who knows that we can do nothing right without Your guidance and help; direct me by Your wisdom and power, that I may accomplish this task and, whatever I do according to Your divine will, so that it may be beneficial to me and others and to the glory of Your holy Name. Amen.
My Lord and Savior, You became man and labored with Your hands until the time of Your ministry. Bless me as I begin this work. Help me to bring it to completion. Lord, enlighten my mind and strengthen my body, that I may accomplish my task according to Your will. Guide me to bring about works of goodness to Your service and glory. Amen.
++++++ Prayer After Any Task ++++++
Thank You, Lord, for Your strength and guidance in my work. You are the fulfillment of all good things. Fill also my soul with joy and gladness, that I may praise You always. Amen.
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