Day 133 - August 12th

It's the first day of school! Russ and I both took Ginger to school today, she was so stinkin' excited and couldn't wait to show all her friends her new haircut.

There's nothing like the first day of school. New haircuts, backpacks, and clothes. All the boy's brand new tennis shoes are sparkling white and actually laced up. Teacher's decorations are gleaming with pride because they were put up with such care and time. Everyone has the same look on their face. The kids excited to see whose in their class, but nervous about who could be in their class. The teachers are hugging the little ones who love to hug, the older kids try to sneak in unnoticed. The teachers are also sizing up all the parents to see if they can predict who is going to be their "trouble parents".

I had my blog totally planned out in my head all morning, I just knew I was going to write about her first day and how I was all grown-up and didn't even cry. And I didn't...the lump in my throat threatened tear-free moments, but I think I made it through just fine. Her first day of kindergarten...I cried all day. The second day, I grasped that time alone and fell in love with it!

Each year the crowds of parents at the doors of classrooms grow smaller. Mrs. Hoover in Kindergarten, actually had to shut the door on 6 parents who couldn't leave. I choose to remain silent if I was one of them. Mrs. Krueger's 1st grade class had about the same amount of parents, but she didn't have to shut the door. Mrs. Moore's 2nd grade class was easier but still a small group of parents that all left at the same time, like a support group. Now here we are on the first day of 3rd grade. Russ and I walked Ginger to her classroom, watched her put her lunchbox away, hug some friends, find her desk, and start sorting through supplies. Then we had to call her back over for our hug good-bye. For now, she's still ok with that. But it wasn't until right now when I was typing this did I realize that Russ and I were the only parents there in Mrs. Brown's door.