The "real" first day...

How can you live with someone for 2 years, 9 months and not know them? Literally watch them take their first breath, spend every waking minute (minus some that grandparents saw), and not know them? Well, that's me. Some day soon I'll be on the Oprah show about teen drug use saying "I just didn't suspect a thing"

I had to wake Andrew up in order to get ready for school on time. No big deal. He let me dress him, feed him breakfast, and talk about school. I tried to take a picture of him holding his tote bag and wearing his name tag, but he would have NONE OF IT.

On the drive there, he continually tried to veer me off the course to school. He saw the hair dressers "Mommy, I need my hair cut RIGHT NOW" ; then the grocery "Mommy, we need more food RIGHT NOW"; McDonald's "I'm hungry for a hamburger RIGHT NOW". Sadly, Mommy was wise to his game. We waited in the line of cars a bit anxiously. Andrew had put his "night-night" in his school bag to "help me not be scared". He took his name tag off and told me he didn't want to go to school alone. He wasn't crying, but his voice was quivering.

Then it was our turn. I pull up expecting the worst. Out of sheer coincidence (or the hand of God), Miss Bev was the staff member to get Andrew. Miss Bev is one of Andrew's teachers...the only one he knows. She opened the door, he smiled at her, and I swear she had him out and moving towards the school so fast he couldn't even look back at my car. Zoom...school day had started.

At about 10, I got a call from the school. Apparently, they try to call all the nervous little psycho Pre-school parents. According to the co-director that contacted me, she had "visited Andrew's classroom that morning. Other children were crying but not Andrew. Now he is at the playground". That was a nice gesture. I'm sure it's the same canned speech she gives all parents. Like they would ever call and say "I visited Andrew's classroom. All the children were playing nicely except for him. He was sitting on top of the bookshelf, throwing toys and screaming like a banshee".

I went to pick him up, and once again they bring him out to my car. This time his other teacher, Miss Colleen walked him out. He was all smiles...no puffy eyes or other signs of previous emotional trauma. Miss Colleen told me that not only did he NOT CRY ALL DAY (even in the very beginning), but she used him to HELP OTHER CRYING CHILDREN SETTLE DOWN.

What? My Andrew? Not crying...good for him. But actually helping the teacher distract and calm other children. Amazing.

Andrew couldn't stop talking the whole way home. He told me about playing with cars on the ramp, going to the playground, singing songs, how he is in the "red classroom", and how other children cried. He said several times "I had a lot of fun at school, Mom"

I'm just so proud I could squeeze him to death. Of course, he's so wound up from his first day of school, he's upstairs in his room throwing things around instead of sleeping. Maybe I'll just squeeze him to sleep. :)