Kindergarten or Bust!

The atmosphere at our house this morning was a cross between Christmas morning and leaving for a big vacation. I woke up early so that I would have plenty of time to shower and get ready before everyone else. I was pleased by the fact that I didn't have an immediate feeling of impending doom as soon as my feet hit the floor. In fact, it kind of felt like business as usual, except for that funny feeling in the pit my stomach - kind of excited, kind of nervous.

I woke McKenna around 7am. She is sometimes very funny when she wakes up in the morning. My mom says that McKenna is the only person she knows who can go from completely asleep to talking your ear off in 1.2 seconds. I wanted to capture that on video if I could. But I only got as far as, "Mom, I'm way too tired to be on video this morning." Enough said!

Before I knew it we were all dressed and breezing through breakfast. I only had to ask once for the kids to brush their teeth, too! Maybe those other mom's are onto something when they say they can't wait for the first day of school. We had fifteen minutes to spare before we headed to the bus stop, the perfect opportunity for some pictures.

I was thankful that the morning was not dragging on and soon it was time to start our walk to the bus stop. I will admit that for a second it felt like I was walking the plank, but I was quickly overcome by excitement. It was hard to be anything but excited while in McKenna's presence. We arrived at the bus stop along with what seemed like half of Peachwood. Let's just say that we weren't alone! There was easily a group of 20 plus people waiting at the corner. I was comforted by the fact that there were a few other parents quizzing their kids about room numbers and bus numbers and what they were having for lunch. At least I wasn't the only one who made their kid repeat their phone number, address and teacher's name a million times last night.

It wasn't long before the bus was spotted in the development and the kids began to line up. If McKenna was nervous (which she swears she wasn't) she never, ever showed it. As the bus pulled up she was first in line. As she walked away I said, "Bye, Kenna" and she gave a quick wave over her shoulder. I wonder if I'll ever forget that moment. I doubt it. Before I knew it, the bus was pulling away. I don't know what I was expecting, some kind of count down or warning, or one last wave goodbye. Whatever it was, I didn't get it. That big yellow bus just pulled away. And at that moment, I literally felt what it is like to have a little piece of your heart leave you. The tears welled up in my eyes despite my best attempts not to cry and risk being made fun of by my husband. I looked up to Cooper who was riding on Earl's shoulders hoping that he would make me laugh and I would forget my tears. He was no help as he looked to the bus and said, "Bye, Bye my Kenna." That was it! Thank goodness that Earl and I were leading the pack of parents and no one could see my tear soaked face. And thank goodness that my back was to them so that I could not see theirs.

We returned to the house around 8:20, all dressed up and with no place to go. I knew that if I were going to make it through the day I would have to keep busy. Luckily, Earl and I had not fed ourselves breakfast and we were starving. We headed out for breakfast, minus one child, for the first time in probably 5 years. We enjoyed ourselves and Cooper made us laugh alot. After breakfast I took the boys home and went to do what I do best - shopping! I was back around lunch time, just in time to bake some cookies for McKenna and get some laundry done. Before I knew it the clock read 2:55pm and it was time to head back to the bus stop. Back on the corner there was some talk of how everyone spent their day. We could hear the bus pull into the development before we could actually see it and soon McKenna was headed back down the steps and into our care! As soon as I saw her, my feelings of sadness instantly turned to pride. She was beaming from ear to ear and so excited to tell us about her day. I couldn't have pictured a better afternoon as the four of us walked home together having all made it through the first day!