Michelle Starts Kindergarten!

Are you ready for picture overload?? Too bad! Its happening! Our first baby started Kindergarten at Caldwell Heights Elementary!! 

Leading up to the first day, Michelle was full of mixed emotions! Nervous, then excited, then nervous, then very excited! Each day was different. And you know what? It was the same for me!

 Meet the Teacher night was great for the...well two of us. Haha! Michelle took in every detail of the classroom and the rest of the school. She was very impressed with the art room and the library! 

First Day of School - Well you know the outfit is pretty much the most important thing! We spent a couple months bringing all these pieces together! She was going for a Kate Middleton look meets studious kindergartner look. (I know big shock that she's a fan too right? Psh!) Michelle has a knack for putting cute outfits together, my mini me! Anyway, enough about clothes. Her Dad and I took her to school and walked her to class. Once it was in view she ran to it! Her main concern was leaving her lunch on the rack outside the door, worrying it would get stolen and she would starve. She hung up her backpack and went to her seat. Right off the kids around her started introducing themselves. Her main fear was not meeting friends. Ha! When we left, I was a mess. I sped walked outta there and spilled those tears like a Texas rain shower! I don't know what it is! Such a mix of emotion! I had been the one who watched over her daily for the past 5, nearly 6 years! I was her teacher, her librarian, her lunch lady, her coach, her nurse, her everything! So watching her smile and wave confidently to me when I left suddenly hit hard! She is going to be fine! This is the next phase! So I can explain the tears as a feeling not so much as missing or worrying about her. Its a feeling of Woa! Ok! This is that next part. I'll feel it again when college hits, and again when marriage hits. Its facing the fact that there is no pause button. They grow and learn!

First Week - I heard they get cranky. The first week, boy was Michelle cranky! I had tried preparing her for the early mornings by putting her to bed earlier at night. But it didn't stick. I found that I didn't have to practice, because when 7pm hit she put herself to bed and was OUT! Haha! She thought at first she was sick and kept whining. But by Friday she was getting the hang of it! Thank goodness it was a three day weekend! But the up side was all the new experiences she was having! I love to hear about her day! She is thriving! Her thirst for knowledge is being quenched! Awesome!!!!

Second Week - By week two the crankys disappeared. She didn't freak out every night feeling like she was "sick." Now she comes home and plays for a while, is back to normal at practice and still gets good rest at night! So we're happy!

And my day? I've never had a schedule that just involved Scarlett before! Not this many days in a row! So she is getting my full attention during the day! She starts speech therapy preschool next week and started dance again. We go over flash cards and reading and writing. Its been great! I admit there have been a couple times when I get paranoid and think, NO! School is a mistake! Michelle needs me! Haha! Once I thought something was stolen from her bag. I was like "Ok! This is Mrs. Arambaru's class circa 1993 all over again!" (I had a thief in my class in 3rd grade) But I kept my cool and the next day Michelle said she had just left it in her desk. Oops. Then I heard a kid was mean. I was like "NOPE! I'm going to that school tomorrow and this will be the end!!!!" But then I took a breath and realized, Michelle was fine. She informed me, but wasn't worried about it. The kid was punished and stopped. Life moved on. No need for me to muddle.

I feel like as a parent in this day and age, I've heard a lot of warnings. Blogs, documentaries, lectures about how bullying is terrible, schools are terrible, neighborhoods are not safe, food is poisoned. And you know what? This is true in many cases. But I find that when my kid started school, I had a mind that was alert for anything that was "terrible." That only the worse case scenario existed. I find that I have to take a minute and really ask myself if something is truly wrong, or have I been trained to fear every little thing? Not to say I don't listen, cause trust me I over analyze everything anyway, especially coming from my kids. The answer I got is that some of these situations are completely normal. Not all kids will be bffs, in fact I'm an adult and still get treated nasty by peers. Some teachers have bad days, but so does the boss from time to time. Some negative things are ok to experience simply because they'll never go away. Its part of life! So I'm learning to be chill and not want to be that over protective mama bear every two seconds. Maybe once every other day TOPS! LOL

We are so proud of Michelle. (There they are again...tears. Eh!) She is my heart and one of my greatest examples. You go girl! See you on the other side! Or well...at 2:45!