The Verdict is In!

According to Audrey, "The first day of school was amazing!" I can't tell you how relieved I was to hear those words come out of her mouth after a somewhat rocky start. All morning, she kind of vacillated between being excited and being nervous. I thought it would be smooth sailing when she quickly got dressed, grabbed her backpack, and ran out to the car when it was time to go. On the way to school, when I told her I'd be running errands while she was at school, she said, "Kindergarten is the BEST!" However, once we pulled in to the parking lot and it was showtime, she suddenly starts telling me, "Mom, I can't do it. I'm just too shy." We were standing outside the school; I was delivering my best pep-talk, and several moms come to my aid, telling Audrey to go find their daughters inside, and they'll be friends with her. Can I just say, if the kids in her class are half as nice as their moms, she should be just fine in the friend department! We also discovered that a little girl from her preschool class is in her K class, along with another little girl who lives down the street. So we walk to class; she's feeling a little better, having seen her friend Alessa in the hall, hanging her backpack on her very own hook, and knowing she already has a couple of friends in her class. The worst isn't over yet, though. I drop her off, give her a hug, wave goodbye, and as I walk out I hear, "I miss my mom!" immediately followed by a sob. I look back and she has her face buried in her hands and is just sobbing. As I watch the teacher continue on with the lesson and ignore my bereaved daughter, I'm barely holding it together. I'm standing in the hallway, out of Audrey's line of sight, watching to see how she does, and another mom, standing in front of the volunteer sign-up sheet, asks if she's in my way. I shake my head no, point to the classroom, say "My daughter..." and burst into tears myself! I so did not peg myself as the "cry on the first day of Kindergarten" kind of mom - I'm really not that emotional, and I was singing praises when I dropped her off at preschool last year. It was just so hard to watch her break down and not be able to rush in and help her feel better. Thankfully, the other mom in the hallway was so sweet, and just gave me a huge hug. She said, "It's a hard day for moms, too." and checked on Audrey for me (so Audrey didn't see me, all upset), and reported that Audrey had stopped crying and was doing her work - she was going to be just fine. I thanked her, and Adam and I left to run some errands. Although it was nice not to be dragging two kids along, I really missed Audrey and wondered about her all day. The three hours passed slowly, but when I went to pick her up, she said, "Mom, I liked it!" She made the amazing comment later, when she showed me what was in her backpack. I didn't get many details from her as far as what they actually did - somehow I thought I'd have a few more years before I had to pry things out of her - but she had a good time and is excited to go back. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the next dropoff is a bit less traumatic!