Kindergarten

I was struck this morning by the huge difference between sending your first child to Kindergarten and sending your baby to Kindergarten. When Brendon went to Kindergarten, I saw most of the special morning's activities via a video camera screen. Ian was 17 months old and woke up that morning in a fierce mood. I don't know if he picked up on my emotions or what, but when we got to Brendon's new classroom, he was insistent on wanting to play where he shouldn't and/or screaming his head off. In desperation, I finally took him outside so he wouldn't ruin the morning for the 19 other sets of parents who were trying to soak in their children's first day at school. I remember walking around the courtyard at Natomas Park Elementary with tears streaming down my face (partly from sadness at having my first in school, partly from anger at missing all the special rituals set up to ease the mothers' reticence). Apart from the emotion of the morning, I remember Brendon had all new clothes, his hair was gelled and perfect and we had pictures and video from the moment he woke up. 

Wednesday was Ian's first day at Kindergarten and I was able to soak in every moment of the morning. We DO have video and pictures from most of the morning, thanks to Michael who always thinks about those things. He DID have a new shirt and though the shorts weren't new, I purposely picked out a pair that weren't faded or worn. His hair was gelled and combed and we DID actually arrive early. The differences show up in other small ways. After drop off, Michael and I were able to stop for a quick jamba juice sans kids and later though we were on time to pick Ian up, we weren't standing around early waiting for a first glimpse at the Kindergarteners as they came out (like many other first time moms). I didn't cry, not even once, over him going to school. I think it affected me more from the standpoint I know this is my last and now I have no more pre-school children (I really enjoyed my pre-schoolers), but I was able to focus on Ian and engage in the morning. It's very therapeutic to focus on the moment with your full mental capacities.

The real test of first versus second child came this morning. I spent Brendon's first full week at Westlake Charter School tearing tags off of shorts and shirts before he got dressed for the day. This morning (third day of school) Ian was getting ready to head out when I heard Michael say, "Ian, have your mom get a different shirt. This one has a big hole in the shoulder." From what I hear, the third child goes to school with the hole in the shoulder. The fourth and subsequent children may or may not be wearing a shirt by the third day at school.