Baylor's First Day of Kindergarten: Before School

Well, today was the big first day of kindergarten for Baylor, and it was met with some anxiety on both our parts.  I got up and made sure I had enough time to prepare everything I could for him, as my own way to calm my nerves.  I made his lunch: grilled cheese, fruit salad, and Newtons, one mixed berry and one baked apples and cinnamon.

He also wanted string cheese, but since he'd been having trouble finding it during his practice runs for lunchtime, I thought I'd wrap a note around it to make it easier to find.

I got him up at 7:00, and we chatted in his room for a bit, mostly to coax him out of bed.  After Mollie got up, we got breakfast.  He was nervous to try a new flavor, dragon fruit, of yogurt, but he did it!  I hoped this would show him that good things can happen even if you're nervous about something.

Mollie, of course, needed to give her opinion as well.  Funny girl ended up eating it all in spite of her initial protestations.

We quickly got ready and I was able to snap a couple pictures of my little guy on his big day.  He chose out his shirt himself; it's his favorite right now and it makes me wonder if he feels just a little more brave in it.

Our plan was to just drop him off at the front of the school with one of the teachers or drop-off helpers, but when we got there there were none to be found.  Seriously, not a school employee in sight.  Thank goodness Bryson came with me; I was able to take Baylor back to the playground myself and see that he got there alright.  Along the way we ran into the two kids who live next door, the younger of whom is in Baylor's class.  He was having a rough time and his older sister needed to go to a different part of the school, so I took him by the hand and helped him back to the playground.  It was tough to see him so upset, and I was surprised that Baylor didn't get upset as well.  Another adult who knew the little guy a bit better came over and tried to get him to calm down, and I was able to focus on Baylor.  It was insanely bright behind the school, and Baylor asked for his sunglasses but I didn't have them with me; as soon as I got home, though, I grabbed them and got his name on them so we'd be ready for tomorrow.  He wasn't ready to play just yet, in part because of how bright it was, but he did let me snap a picture of him!  Look at my brave little guy!

I asked him if he'd rather just wait in the line with his backpack and he said yes, so we walked back to his backpack ... and he promptly sat on it, lunch and all.  Hopefully his lunchbox and the container holding his food protected everything.  We'll see.  After I got him seated on the ground, I told him I had to leave - our car wasn't parked in an appropriate spot and I knew it might just get harder to leave the longer I stayed - and I gave him a kiss and told him I loved him and would see him after school.  Then I walked away.

Then I left and my heart broke a little bit.  I was pretty sure I could make it to the car without crying, but an old teacher friend (and the parent of a former classmate of mine) asked how I was doing and started hugging me the minute she saw my chin quiver.  (Mrs. Champagne, if you're reading this, thank you from the bottom of my heart for the hugs and reassurances.)

And now, we anticipate 3:15 ... hopefully it'll be all smiles then.