More on Back to School

All through summer I’d turn on the near-tears every time Gavin and I talked about first grade in the fall. With half-day kindergarten we had so much time to play together in the afternoons. This would be the first time we’d be apart “all day long” every day. So I would get sad and tell Gavin how much I’d miss him. And it was really true.

But there are two sides to every coin and I have to admit that this coin flipped as I watched him get on the bus the first day – the very moment when I thought the real tears might flow. To see him so excited to start his day, to come home in the afternoon jazzed about school – I couldn’t want anything else for him.

And then there’s me. And Arwen. Life is different at home now but where I’d thought Arwen would be mourning her perpetual playmate she settled quickly into the female-only environment. And I have to admit to feeling a bit more agile myself.

Arwen’s first day of school followed Gavin’s by nearly two weeks. Thinking she might have a hard time with a new situation, I talked through the routine with her several days in advance. And when the time came to walk into her new school, she did great! She attends with enthusiasm each Monday and Friday morning and especially likes to paint and play with her friend Dalia.

Preschool Fridays free me up to spend some time in Gavin’s classroom, which I’m looking forward to. It’s hard to believe how much they’re doing already. I got a preview last Friday and will get my first full exposure this coming week.

As much as I’ve wanted to hold onto the golden days of summer, the energy of new beginnings is taking over and it feels good to be settling into new routines.