Kindergarten

This post has been in the making for how long? Since the first day of school well over a month ago. I tried to take the red-eye out of the pictures and it worked. Go me. Except the file got changed in the process and now it won't upload to my blog. Ugh. Since I'm getting backed up in posts (that's right, I'm trying put out a better effort to keep this thing current), here it is: the greatly anticipated, anxiety inducing, first day of Kindergarten.


Jadon excited about his new backpack.


Don't be mislead. Jadon really was excited to go to school. Right after I took this picture, our exchange went something like this:

Me: (The bell rang. Why are all the parents still standing in the back of the classroom? Is the teacher going to say something? What are we waiting for?)

Jadon: Bye, Mom.

Me: Oh, you want me to leave? (Slightly amused and astonished, I kiss him on the forehead.)

Jadon: (Through clinched teeth.) Bye. Mom.

Me: Bye, sweetheart.

As I walked away I could help but think about what I was supposed to be feeling? Melancholy? Elated? Displaced? No. I actually felt peace. Not because I didn't have a near 5-year-old talking my ear off at the moment--I would definitely miss him while he was at school. This peace was a confirmation to me that Jadon was in the right place at the right time.

I had a bit of an internal struggle trying to decide whether or not to start him in Kindergarten this year because he has a late birthday. The trend seems to be to wait another year. But Jadon is a bright kid. He's had two years of pre-school. I was always confident that he'd do well. I guess I wasn't sure how I would handle letting my kid go to the stewardship of a stranger for a good portion of the day, everyday. Control freak? Perhaps. I see it as proceeding with caution and a hint of vigilance. When you put forth so much effort to teach your kids the right things, you don't want any of that to come undone under the influence of other kids or even adults.

Yeah, yeah. I'm totally over-reacting. He's only 5 for heaven's sake! At any rate, I am so blessed to have such a wonderfully independent and confident little boy. Jadon brings pure joy to our family. And even after a month of school, I already see how much he is learning and growing by going to school. We were blessed to have had such wonderful teachers for Jadon--Miss Debi in pre-school and Mr. L for Kindergarten. That's right people, he has a boy teacher! Pretty awesome if you ask me.