Kindergarten!

*I started writing this post last week, but kept crying and gave up. Now I'm sitting here in my blissfully quiet house with my steaming cup of coffee, and I'm gonna give it one more go :)

My first baby girl started kindergarten on Monday. That was a hard sentence to write. Kindergarten? Really? Wasn't she this little just last week?

That sweet little baby has now turned into this amazing little girl:

Look at her, all grown up. Kinda breaks my heart a little bit. But I'm so, so proud of the sweet girl she is. 

So the first day of kindergarten started out with a bit of drama when Josh mistakenly took my only set of car keys to work with him. I didn't realize the keys were missing until we were on our way out the door. Uh..can you say PANIC? (note to self: locate keys at least 30 minutes prior to departure!) SO....I call Josh, freaking out, he races back home (thank goodness we live close to his office), and we make it to school about 10 minutes late. 

When we walked into the classroom, do you know what my daughter did? She put her backpack in her cubby, turned around, gave me a hug, and said "bye mom". That's it. No crying, no "mommy will you stay" nada. Who is this child, and what has she done with my clingy mama's girl? I made it out of the class without falling apart, but lost it the second my tush hit the car seat. Poor Avery didn't know what to make of any of it! 

I found this poem that pretty much sums up everything I was/am feeling about my baby leaving me for kindergarten. Warning: if you have one that just started, this WILL make you cry (unless I'm just a pregnant, hormonal mess--and if that's the case, don't tell me.)

First Day of School poem

She started school this morning,
And she seemed so very small.
As I walked there beside her
In the Kindergarten hall.

And as she took her place beside
the others in the class,
I realized how all too soon
Those first few years can pass.

Remembering, I saw her as
She first learned how to walk.
The words that we alone made out
When she began to talk.

This little girl so much absorbed
In learning how to write.
It seems as though she must have grown
To girlhood overnight.

My eyes were blurred by hastily
I brushed the tears away
Lest by some word or sign of mine
I mar her first big day.

Oh how I longed to stay with her
And keep her by the hand
To lead her through the places
That she couldn’t understand.

And something closely kin to fear
Was mingled with my pride.
I knew she would no longer be
A baby by my side.

But she must have her chance to live,
To work her problems out,
The privilege to grow and learn
What life is all about.

And I must share my little girl
With friends and work and play;
She’s not a baby anymore –
She’s in Kindergarten today.