We Let Her Go...

Well, we did it. We let go of Bella just long enough for her to escape into the wonderful world they call Kindergarten. Her first day was last Wednesday, and honestly it was a day that I've been dreading for a long time. I mean, just look how upset utterly excited she looks about going...

She did great! She has been excited about it for a long time and always loved preschool. We knew she'd do great. It's just that she's our baby and still so young and in a bigger school and what if he gets lost and all new friends and all new teachers and recess where she could get hurt and what if kids are mean to her andandand...

She picked out a new pink and purple backpack, had her dress picked out for weeks, and wanted me to do a braid in her hair. We took pictures in front of the house in the same spot that we have every year. Doesn't she look SO old!? {sigh}

Daddy did great for the most part. He was sad and had many second thoughts like I did, but knew (like I did) that it was the best thing for her right now. {Just look at how she adores her Daddy!}

And then there's Mommy... I may look fine here, but I was running on adrenaline to get her to school at this point. I even made the comment to Mark on the way that I couldn't believe that I was doing so well. Of course that was all ruined by pulling into the school's parking lot.

{Dunt. Dunt. Duh.}

I thought that maybe, just maybe I had gotten it all out the night before when I laid with her as she slept in bed. Not so. Of course you still need to act excited and happy for your child, so I wasn't going to cry until after she got out of the truck. Well, long story still long but shorter now, after walking her to her classroom (which I was NOT expecting to do...), I got in the truck and cried. A little, and then a lot when nursing the baby to sleep after getting home. (Thank goodness I put on my waterproof mascara that gets applied, oh, maybe twice a year!)

Now a week later, she's still doing great and loving it! I haven't been sad since the first day either. It was just a matter of getting through it. Isn't that always the case with the many milestones and firsts of your child's life?