First Day, Version 5.0

First day of second grade. Second Grade! What? When did that happen?

Oh. Today.

I spent the last two weeks praying for the first day of school. Now it's here and suddenly I feel lost in my house. What am I going to do without somebody to show me dinosaur pictures and quiz me about their sizes and types for the next eight hours? I miss my boy.

Thank goodness for Monkey. She's the cat we're fostering for a friend of mine and she came and snuggled up next to me as I was cooling off from my run this morning. This is particularly sweet as she only got here a couple of days ago and has spent most of her time under the bed trying to figure out what this Murawski family thing is all about. She tends to only come out when Wendy--The Cat Whisperer--is home. So, it was nice. Bittersweet as it reminds me of Cali, and how empathetic she could be. I really miss her. It's nice to have a cat in the house again. I'll post some pictures of her when doing so doesn't reveal the underside of my bed.

So. Our boy is a Second Grader. Do you capitalize that? I never know.

It's Mom's first day of school too, and we're very proud of her too. She got us up and out the door early, anticipating that dropoff would be crowded and finding a parking space would be tough. Also she wanted to make sure I had plenty of time to carry the fifteen bags of supplies to the car. Those are supplies for Kiernan's class, incidentally. The school sends home teacher wish/need lists hoping that parents will grab a couple extra things as they do their back-to-school shopping. So that the teachers don't have to pay for school supplies from their own salaries. I mean, we can't have our tax dollars supplying our classrooms. No. That would be foolish.

I'm glad Wendy wants to contribute. I really am. I believe in that. But she doesn't just get a couple of the things on the list. Oh no. She makes that list her business. I can always tell there's gonna be some damage when she gets home from such a shopping trip and refuses help carrying stuff  into the house. "Hey honey, I'll be right out to help--" "No. No. NO! I'm good. I've got it. Really." The woman really shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a dollar store.

Wendy was right to plan ahead by leaving early for the first day, today. It was a total zoo at the school. It felt like a concert, the place was so packed. Kiernan was cool until he lined up with his class and prepared to do the Pledge of Allegiance, which I like that the classes did outside. Every school day in Kindergarten started with the Pledge, outside at lineup. For some reason the First Grade classes did the Pledge inside every day, so I rarely saw it. I like it outside. I like to participate in that.

At any rate, he started to get a bit concerned before the Pledge. I think the weight of becoming a second grader was finally becoming real to him. A new classroom. A new teacher. Some new friends. His class roster looks great; it looks like a good class. Luckily his friend Oliver is with him. It was just that moment. That moment when you realize you're crossing a threshold. You could see it in his eyes. I suppose we'll be seeing that in his eyes every year. Some of it is fear of the unknown, the new. Along with the understanding that moving forward means leaving something behind.

I saw it last year. And the year before. I'm thankful for it. And it breaks my heart a little bit every time.

Grow, big boy. We love you and are so very proud of you.