Back To School

On Monday The Boy starts Kindergarten. The. Boy. Kindergarten. I can hardly believe all those words are being used together. How is this possible? I've been gearing myself up for months (five years worth of months) and I thought I was all set and ready. Especially Monday or Tuesday of this week. I was way ready. He was driving us all crazy. There has been a lot of fighting with The Boy and Miss Thing and The Boy and his mama. All very frustrating. I was ready to throw him on any bus that drove by, regardless of where it was going. That was until last night.

Last night was a open house of sorts for all the kids and parents to go and meet their teachers. I had been gathering up his school supplies all week so we could take them then instead of on the first day of school. Once we got there and saw all the big kids, the mass chaos, the big kids I started to wonder if I'm really as ready as I keep telling everyone that I am. It was as if all of the sudden the two of us weren't as big as we like to think we are.

For the past two and a half years we have been sending The Boy to the Early Childhood Special Education preschool program. I have loved it. More importantly he has loved it. He's had a wonderful teacher, Ms. Kim, that worked so well with him. And worked even harder to make him love her. She was so good to us, patiently dealing with all the little email inquiries I would make of her. And patiently dealing with all of The Boy's antics. I suppose, though, it's not fair to make her teach him throughout his entire school career. It should be fair, but I suppose it's not.

Thank you, Ms. Kim!

We do have some good things going for us this year. First and foremost David's mother, The Boy's Granny, teaches at the very same school that he will be going to. Just two doors down, to be precise. I think without this I would be much more of a nervous wreck. We've been there a number of times so both of us are familiar with the school and the layout. We know or have met many of the teachers and staff long before we began this transition process.

This morning we were there at the school again to meet his Para, who will be at his side the entire day, while he is at school. She seems to be a perfect fit for him. Everyone I've talked to has sung her praises. And they all have said he is ready, he'll be fine.

I'll just keep repeating that to myself and maybe, just maybe, by the end of the school year I'll be ready too.