Today was quite an eventful day in our house. My baby started Kindergarten! Yep, Hailey is a big girl officially. Wow.....I never thought this day would come so soon. It seems like just yesterday I was holding her in my arms singing her lullaby's in her room rocking her to sleep. Hailey was sooooo excited to start school today. We laid out her clothes the night before by her bed so she was ready to go in the morning. When I woke her up singing "First Day of School!" in my best embarassing Mom voice, she shot right out of bed with her best Hailey smile. She has the most beautiful smile! (I might be just a bit biased). So, we got her bathed and dressed and we did her hair just perfectly with her cute little headband and headed out the door for her embarassing "First Day of School" pictures. I took a million pictures and Hailey was excited at first, but when all the kids started showing up by the curb waiting for the school bus, she got really irritated and told me basically to stop the humiliation. Luckily, Cody showed up for a little moral support and calmed me down a bit until the bus arrived and I just about peed my pants, I was so nervous for her. Cody is so sweet! I was so dang impressed by Hailey when she turned, got in line, and without a moments hesitation, she boarded the big bus. She didn't even look back, wave, smile, or scream "I love you Mom, you're the most wonderful Mom in the whole world, and I can't live without you!" like I dreamed she would. Nope, she got on like it was no big freakin deal and sat down. I of course, burst into tears and ran like hell to my car to get in and follow the speeding bus down the road to her school. Poor Bronson and Maddy were in the back just watching all the fuss and Mom talking to herself: "Don't cry, you idiot, don't cry." We pull up to the school and of course I'm so distracted looking for Hailey's bus, that I drove through the bus lane right past two huge signs that say "No private vehicles", parked the car, grabbed Maddy and Bronson like there was a fire burning through town, and ran to the bus stop to get a good spot on the pavement before all the other obsessive Mom's squeezed me out. I sat waiting, and waiting and her bus didn't show up. I started panicking a little and I seriously had the thought come to my head that maybe I put her on the wrong bus and somehow she was on her way to a totally different school and my poor baby was going to be lost on her first day and it was all my fault!!!!! Oh no!!! Whewww......just when I was about to run screaming into the office to start a radio communication with all the other buses in the city of Orem, I saw a glimpse of the big dog picture on the front of her bus and breathed for the first time in about ten minutes. Of course all the other Mom's start going crazzzzyyy with their camera's screaming "Johnny over here!" "Sara, smile for me sweety!"......and so I immediately like them start flashing my camera this way and that way until I realize I'm taking pictures of the wrong bus and Hailey has already gotten off her bus and was headed my way. What a dork! So I try to catch up with the pictures and we head into the school. We get into her classroom and find her name and she sits down and starts playing with the blocks on the table. Her teacher is busily greeting students and passing out name tags. Hailey is at this point trying to avoid me, and gives me this look like why don't you get out of here already Mom! I look to her teacher for support and encouragement thinking she'll ask the parents to stay for a few minutes, and her teacher just says, "It's time to leave now."
"What the....?" I knew I didn't like that Mrs. Rodas when I met her!
Well, I told myself for about the millionth time that day to pull it together for heaven's sake and turned and walked out of the classroom. My eyes were swimming, and I could barely see one foot in front of me and all the other kids were running to their classrooms all around me. I felt so incredibly lost! I suddenly turned around in my tracks and marched back to her door to steal another peak through the glass. I was sure Hailey was sad, crying, or at least a little scared and needed one last hug from her Mommy, but oh no. There she was: laughing, smiling, talking to Javier next to her. She was just fine.....in fact, she was more than just fine. She was great!!! I was crushed. Literally heartsick, that my baby didn't need me at all anymore. I turned around once more to head home. I went immediately to the mall to do a little retail therapy, but I just couldn't seem to take my mind off of the day. I just kept wondering how she was doing, if she needed to go to the bathroom and couldn't get her belt off quick enough (Thanks, JED!) and if the other kids were being nice.
When I got home I still had a good 30 minutes before her bus was to be showing up, but I took Bronson and Maddy outside and we played until the bus arrived. As soon as I heard the bus down the street, I ran to the curb and waited anxiously. The bus pulled up across the street, and I decided to just stay put and not embarass Hailey any more today. The bus stopped, the door opened, and Hailey came running across the street, and I heard that one word that made my whole day worthwhile, "Mom!" she yelled with a smile that ran from ear to ear. She was so excited and told me she loved school and couldn't wait to go back the next day. She talked about how she had so much fun playing at recess on the playground, and then when a mean boy called her poopy pants she just ignored him and walked away. Boys can say mean things, I tell her, but it doesn't matter what anyone thinks or says to her as long as she is true to herself and remembers how much I love her. Wow, I just had my first after-school special with her! This day rocks! We get inside and I start making lunch and Hailey informs me that she is so tired from such a long day at school that she just has to lay down on the couch while lunch is being made and rest.
So that is our first day of school.....I'm really hoping the next time isn't this hard!
Oh, I forgot the best part: When I was tucking Haiey in tonight she said, "Mom, I need to tell you something important." Okay, I waited....."um.....tomorrow when the bus comes, I just want to wait outside by myself, and you and Bronson and Maddy can just stay inside, okay?"
"Okay, I guess so." :)
