Thursday, September 10, 2009

Schoolboy

Hank Going Off to School

This was the scene yesterday. Hank loaded up and ready for his first day of school. The contents of that tote bag are: a ziploc bag holding a change of clothes; and his Star Wars lunchbox holding a PB&J, banana, cheese crackers, and sippy cup. Yet Hank could only hold his bag with his arm up high, because it was so heavy, he said. When I was making his lunch, I cut the crusts off his sandwich so, so carefully, in case there is a correlation between neat crust-removal and academic success.

At promptly 9:30, I was in the drop-off line and at the school's front entrance. His teacher saw me roll up, and she came over and opened Hank's door. She greeted him and chattered while she unbuckled his seat, and she had his feet on the sidewalk before he knew what hit him. I had told him how this would all go, and he seemed okay with all of it. We called out our goodbyes, and I then tried to simultaneously drive away and twist my body 180 degrees, to catch one more glimpse of his little white face.

Then I went home. Where I had time to turn around completely one time and drink almost a whole cup of coffee before I was thinking, "Almost time to go get the boy." I was holding my purse and keys twenty minutes before I needed to leave.

When I got to his room to pick him up, I could see him through the window. He was studying the faces of the moms, waiting for me to appear. His teacher said that he never cried, but that he said, "Can we call my mom now?" a lot, all day. He did play, though, and she thought he'd had fun. He told me that he liked school, but his chief complaint was that they hadn't been allowed to go to the playground where there are swings. But he also said, "The teacher did let me go with the music lady," and he liked that. I think overall, it was a good first day. He hasn't said anything about not wanting to go on Friday. The second day will tell the tale, I bet. He might be, like, "Wait, we did this once already. There's no need to do it again."

While he was at school, Pretty Neighbor called and said that her kids wanted to have cupcakes for Hank at their house, in honor of his first day. We did not need convincing.

Cupcakes

They made cards for Hank, and generally made him feel celebrated. I feel good that the first day is behind us, but it is so strange, this feeling of our children having a world separate from ours. He now knows people I don't know, even if he can't remember their names. He said, "Mom, I made new friends! But I don't know who they are." Anyway, one day down, three thousand something to go.

Yum

17 comments:

Kelly said...

I'm so proud of him! And proud of you too! Hope tomorrow goes well- I'll have to ask him all about when we come over for our big date!!!

Jenni said...

Oh, what a day. Very poignent - "the feeling of our children having a seperate world from ours." the though of it makes me ache.

he was very handsome (of course) and i so love that he wanted to call you all day. did that break your heart a little?

David said...

High five, Little Man!

Jane said...

Awesome! So glad he had a good day! And made some new friends, even if he doesn't know who they are just yet.

Keely said...

Oh, he is SO CUTE! I'm glad it went well. But yeah, it's kind of heartwrenching, the idea that they have experiences you aren't there to share with them.

Veronica said...

Way to go, Hank!

Amy said...

Oh my, WHAT a little man! He is so precious--he looks so proud of himself! Good on ya, Hank.

I had the same thoughts when Ava started Kindy this year--that she has a world now that I don't know as much about and I'm not there all the time to help her interpret what's happening. Don't we mothers wish we were omnipresent? :)

Sounds like a great school! He will have such a fun time.

Lawyer Mom said...

I wish pretty neighbor lived next door to me.

Great pictures, Becky. Take a deep breath. It gets better . . . sort of.

Maggie said...

And before you know it, your little man graduates from college and wants to marry some girl and has a real job.....sigh. It really does go too fast.BTW, did you know that my baby boy is getting married in March?????

Amy said...

Also meant to say--PN's kids sure are pretty, too! How sweet to have a little party for Hank.

Leciawp said...

Oh my goodness....where does the time go?? Those last two photos are really amazing. Cal has a star wars lunchbox, too :)

The Dental Maven said...

Welcome to your new world order, Hank! Enjoy!

Anonymous said...

After seeing the front-stoop photo there, I'm not sure I would have been able to leave that adorableness off after all, just do a "Sorry, wrong turn" as I rolled through the dropoff...

Little pieces of our hearts out there, walking around without us...

How did this morning go?

Casey said...

What a cutie! That must have been tough to watch his teacher whisk him away like that but I'm glad there were cupcakes at the end of the day!

Bonnie said...

He is so adorable! Laura looks like such a big grown-up girl next to him.

Cassie said...

He is so darling. Way to go, Hank!

Anonymous said...

What a great picture as he goes off to school! You just want to kiss those little cheeks!