First Day of Kindergarten

Monday, August 1, 2011 marked another big milestone for my daughter Kate - her first day of Kindergarten.

As a mom, I thought she would be more nervous than excited, but I was wrong. As I fumbled my camera and carried in three bags of supplies, my four year old immediately exercised her independence on the first day wanting me to go as soon as we got to school--- she was urging me to hurry up as I was trying to enjoy this moment as a parent. I only took a couple of pictures as Kate was eager to get to class and see her friends; we arrive to her class and she immediately puts her own belongings away and kisses me goodbye quickly so she could enjoy all of her new surroundings. As I walked back to my car, a few tears came to my eyes and I thought about my own mom, who is a bigger crier than me, who told me recently (many years later) how she cried from Auburn, Al to Charlotte, NC on the way home from dropping me off at college and how that feeling of no longer being needed hits you hard.

As proud as I am of Kate starting school, I definitely felt "the hit" on day one. I have loosened the reigns from overprotective mama bear and let her ride the bus to school with her good friend who lives down the street, buy lunch in the cafeteria and she's totally thriving so far earning green behavior dots in class!

So far we are off to a great start but waking at 5AM to get two kiddos ready for school/daycare is tough getting used to...and to think I complained about how tough it was to get up for an 8 AM class in college all those years ago...