Kindergarten

The Artist started kindergarten this week.

I cannot believe it. I cannot believe this baby, this little darling who cooed in my arms just hours after she was born, this dress-up loving child, this girl who I still rock every night – how is she old enough for kindergarten?

But she is. Every day she gets a little bit older, a little bit wiser, and a little bit more independent.

It happened quicker than we could have imagined. One day I was stroking her baby fuzz, feeding her a bottle. I blinked, and she was dancing to “Frozen” songs and wearing costumes in public. I turned my back and she was wearing a school uniform for the first time in her life.

It happened – my baby became a big girl. And even though I can remember endless nights of feeding her and comforting her and days that seemed to last forever because, really, how many times could we watch “Hercules” – but before my two eyes, she grew and thrived.

For her part, she LOVED her first day. LOVED it. It was actually better than Christmas. We picked her up, and she wanted to know how quickly she could go back. And after we put her to bed that first night, she came back in our room and wanted to know exactly how long she would be in kindergarten – she wanted to make sure it was long enough.

She made new friends, explored the computer lab, played on the monkey bars, and enjoyed lunch. She met the “real” Pete the Cat (she says) and colored and told me, “My teacher is impressed with my art.” (There’s a reason we call her The Artist, ha!) She told me names of kids she played with and how much she liked her teacher.

We started this school blind. I didn’t think I knew anyone, but, over time, and closer to the first day, we learned more and more of her classmates and the school. A former coworker is head of the PTC. Two of our neighbors’ children are in her class. And when we were walking her in yesterday, we spotted two college friends who just moved back and whose little girl was also in The Artist’s class.

In other words – this new home feels like an old home.

I am so excited to dive into her school, to learn about her classmates and her beautiful teacher and what she learns. I’m so excited to hear about her day, about eating in a cafeteria for the first time, about having recess, and about learning math and social studies (!!!). I am so thankful for our community with its awesome public schools and teachers and staff who care so much about our kids.

It’s so much fun. It’s so exciting and new, but it’s a bit unnerving, too – we haven’t EVER had to take her to school at a certain time (especially before 8 a.m.), and we haven’t ever attended such a big school, but she’s a big girl now. And big girls go to big schools.