Jack started Kindergarten and I feel so OLD! Where has the time gone? It seems like only yesterday this precious tiny little baby came into our family & made me a Grandma. It has been a very special time watching him grow up and become such a fun, loving, sensitive, kind little boy.
Now I am feeling nostalgic and as I started looking back at old pictures of my kids and their school days I decided to add to this and take a walk down memory lane. Four kids and four first days of kindergarten. I remember it like it was yesterday, yet it seems so long ago. Each experience was different, because each child is different and unique, but the feelings that a Mom has when she sends her baby off to school is the same. They are no longer under your wing and they are now out in the cold cruel world fending for themselves. As every Mom knows who has been through this it is a bittersweet time in our lives! So, as soon as I dry my tears, let's take a look at each of my four children on their first day of school....
(You'll need to click on each picture to make it bigger because I'm too lame to figure out how to do it right!)
ERIN -1982-James Marshall Elementary School, Sacramento, CA
Having your first born go off to school is a real adventure. You have no idea what you are getting yourself into! Erin was a very independent child and not one bit shy so she had no problem heading off to school. In fact, she didn't even want her Mom and Dad to come into the classroom to meet the teacher. She had no fear and if she would have had the chance she probably would have taught the class herself! Of course, I cried and carried on because my baby was all grown up and didn't need me anymore. It was hard but I enjoyed having Erin make new friends, learn new things and share all that she learned with her family. I was the room Mom and I worked in the classroom one day a week. Little did I know that this would continue for 15 years! I was the room Mom and worked in the classroom for all my kids when they were in Elementary school.
MEGAN-1985-James Marshall Elementary School, Sacramento, CA
Sending Megan off to school was much different than sending Erin off. Megan was very attached to me and was very shy and reluctant. She did not want me to leave and was terrified that I would not get there on time to pick her up. It was hard for me to let go of Megan that first day because I knew how hard it was for her. I wanted to stay there and give her the security she needed, but I had to sneak out and peer through the window at my very sad, petrified little girl who just knew her mother had abandoned her! When the day was over and I came to pick her up she was all smiles and very happy to tell me all about her day. Megan did very well in Kindergarten and got over some of her shyness & made friends. She loved singing and coloring and taking a snack to school.
SHAUNA-1988-Montevideo Elementary School, Mission Viejo, CA
Sending Shauna off that first day was definitely hard. We had only lived in Mission Viejo for 6 weeks before school started. The school was several miles away and I felt like I was sending my poor baby girl out into the big cruel world alone. She did not know anyone and neither did I. It was hard, but she did very well and made friends easily. Her teacher was amazed at her ability to color and draw and she was able to let her creativeness really take off. She started taking the bus after the first week and really loved that. She was in the afternoon class & was not able to go with Erin and Megan so she was a big girl and rode the bus alone.
JORDAN-1990-Trabuco Canyon Elementary, Trabaco Canyon, CA This was the hardest thing I had done up to this point in my life. Sending your baby, your last child off to school was a killer. What was I going to do with myself all day with all my kids in school? Jordan was also shy and reluctant but he had a couple of little friends who lived in the neighborhood that were in his class so that made it easier. He was one of the tallest & oldest in his class and he really thought he was a big kid! Jordan also rode the bus and loved it. His school was in a beautiful canyon and right in the middle of Orange County - who would have thought - there were horses, cows, sheep, all on the school grounds. After I dropped him off that first day, I sat in my car for a very long time and cried like a baby. I went to the grocery store and for the first time in a long time I was childless and I did not like it at all. It did get easier and I did start to enjoy my new found freedom! Afterall Kindergarten was only for a few hours....
