And the pre-K student (and his mom!) are okay!! We did great with drop off for the first day of school at big school -- Harrison was much braver than I was!
Got a few photos of the big guy wearing his uniform and his backpack at home, then loaded up into my car to drive over to school. We sat in the car for a minute to let Harrison finish his milk and got a nice treat of Dada and Hewitt doing a drive-by for one more wave! :) Then got Harrison's backpack on and his rain jacket over the pack (yes -- all it took was the first day of school and hundreds of sad parents dropping off hundreds of scared kids to end the drought) and marched right into that school! We held hands, of course, and Harrison walked at one of his slower speeds, but I did not have to drag or carry him in -- he went on his own! They had some loud music playing at the front entrance to greet all the students -- peppy stuff for the bigger kids to hear when they hopped out of their cars -- even had one lady bopping around with cheerleader pompoms. Basically, Harrison's worst nightmare. I know that the only way into the school without a key (that I obviously do not have access to) was through those front doors, but my mind was racing as I tried to think of some way around the scene. So I squatted and got in Harrison's face and told him, "You do not have to dance, and there will not be music inside." I knew the first part of that was true and really hoped that the second part was also true (turns out it was)! He said, "Okay," and did his best to be invisible as well as brave. We got through the front doors without incident, and he even steered me towards "his" hallway. Still walking on his own feet and still not being dragged! Got a bit hesistant at the door to his room but was okay when he realized that I was walking in with him to help him find his hooks and his cubby. He made the big decision to hang his raincoat on this hook and his backpack on that hook and helped me store his rest time blanket in the bottom cubby, then it was time to line up with the other kids and walk to the cafeteria for breakfast. We did hugs and kisses and "I love you" and "I'm proud of you" and "I'll be back to get you after lunch and rest time" and then I told him I'd wait for him in the hallway to wave while he walked to the cafeteria. So I went to the hall to wait for them to finish lining up. While I was out there, one lady told me "Congratulations!" I wasn't sure what she was congratulating me for -- the baby in my big belly or the baby in the pre-K room or not having mascara all over my face -- so I just said, "Thank you!" Then Harrison's class started filing out so I waved and smiled big at all the little kids in their perfect little line and managed to stop myself from reaching down to hold the two little girls who were crying (their teachers came over to them to help -- they weren't just standing the halls crying by themselves!) and then there he was! So proud with his chin up and his hands behind his back like his teacher asked (because "there is some really nice art in the hallways and we want to remember not to touch it when we walk past"). I patted his tamed hair (nice work, Dada) and got one more kiss and then left before the teacher could say, "Okay, Mom -- go ahead and leave now -- we'll see you this afternoon -- goodbye!" My last view was him marching into the cafeteria to discover what non-Ms.-Betty school food is like!
