Sarah's first day of kindergarten

After all of the thought, preparation, paperwork, questions, prayers, conversations, worries, and shopping, it's all over. Sarah's first day of kindergarten that is. I admired the calm confidence she seemed to have this morning as Julia and I hugged her and said good-bye, leaving her at a table with two other little girls, all dressed in pink of course. After we finally got out of the parking lot,about 15 minutes later, and made it the half-mile or so to our house, I got a phone call from Carlton asking how it went.

I had held it together relatively well, which is an accomplishment for any mom dropping her first child off at kindergarten, but when Carlton told me what an accomplishment today was for me, after 5 years as a stay-at-home mom, the tears came. And then later, when flowers arrived on my front porch with a note saying, "congratulations on the first 5 years" the tears came again. I am so grateful for my amazing, thoughtful husband. He couldn't share this important day with us in person, but we certainly knew he was thinking about us.

When I picked Sarah up today she came through the doors holding another little girls' hand; ironically her name is Julia. It's so refreshing that kindergarteners can make friends with another person so easily. A real-life example of "all I really needed to know I learned in kindergarten." The other noteworthy news from today is that Sarah will be buying her lunch from the cafeteria tomorrow. She is most excited about this, and when I asked her if she'd like to wait until I can have lunch with her to help her figure out the logistics of going through the cafeteria line, she said, "Mom, I can figure it out." As long as I promised to provide the exact amount of money she needs (because she "doesn't know about money yet!"). For all of the firsts that Sarah will experience in kindergarten, I'm experiencing just as many. I have to remember, I've spent 5 years giving her roots, and now she's going to use her wings. Thanks for indulging in my sappy thoughts on this common yet significant day in our lives!