First Day of Grade One!

Although Devlin went to sleep quite late last night - a combination of late nights at the cottage and excitement over the new school year - he was awake at the slightest nudge this morning. He bounded out of bed, threw on his clothes excitedly and hopped down the stairs for breakfast. Devlin was raring to go.

He was so excited he declared he couldn't finish his breakfast. I coaxed him to at least finish his yogurt drink. When I advised him that I would pick him for lunch, he was very upset. I explained I hadn't gone grocery shopping so I didn't have much. He wanted to eat lunch at school with his friends, like everyone else. So I scrounged around the fridge looking for something suitable to pack into his lunch bag. A couple of pepperettes, string cheese and hot dog bun. Devlin proclaimed it satisfactory. He quickly posed for the obligatory first day of school photos and then urged us to get our shoes on.
And off we went at a brisk pace. Mommy, Daddy, Ceilidh and Devlin. Along the way, we saw many others parents accompanying their children on the first day of school. The school yard was a confusion of bodies - parents with cameras, children running around greeting their classmates, teachers with clipboards checking off student names. We found Devlin's class, met his teacher and escorted him to the back of the line.
"Bye Mommy! Bye Daddy! Bye Ceilidh!" he said as he waved with a smile on his face. One last hug and kiss for mom and dad, and then he followed the line into the building. As I gazed upon my first-born, strutting confidently while hoisting up his backpack, my husband turned to me and asked if I was teary-eyed yet. Not until that moment. He, of course, was wiping away some moisture from his eyes.
Two years ago, it was a different story. There was lots of tears and untangling of little arms from my legs. There was a look of nervous apprehension. I saw none of that today from my first-grader. As I scanned the schoolyard, I did see more than one kindergarten pupil clinging to their parent while sobbing. That was me a mere twenty-four months ago. And then there were the after-school chats and phone calls from the teachers regarding his behaviour. A visit to the vice-principal's office in the first week of junior kindergarten for fighting! That had to be a record. I'll admit that throughout the day, I kept checking our phone, nervously, lest there was a call from the school. It's 25 minutes from dismissal, and I haven't heard anything yet. Let's hope this is a sign of the year to come.
Tomorrow - Ceilidh's first day of (all-day) junior kindergarten!