Preschool

The day I had been waiting for was finally here. The day that my youngest, my baby, would go to preschool for the first time. I foolishly thought that the three hours of uninterrupted time would translate into some productive writing time, but I should have known better. I was a bit nervous dropping him off. After all, my son, like many three-year-olds, doesn't particularly care to have Mom drop him off anywhere and then leave. I braced myself for the tears, which thankfully never came. He looked a little shell shocked when I left, but he didn't cry.

I got home, got the last of my children off to school, and then wondered what I was supposed to do now. Almost an hour passed before I realized that I didn't have to watch the Disney channel. I could watch anything I wanted on television. Well, I didn't want to watch TV anyway, but the point is that I could! I got on the computer, uninterrupted. I set an alarm on my watch so that I could write for a while without worrying that I wouldn't lose track of the time. (I do that sometimes, especially when I'm writing.) I even managed to do the dishes and get somewhat organized for a meeting I was conducting tonight. Still, I struggled to concentrate on anything for long. I couldn't get used to the absolute quiet in the house.

Still a bit nervous about how my little boy was faring at his first day of school, I left early in case there was traffic on the mile stretch of road between my house and the school. Before I made it to the preschool room, I got caught by a few acquaintances at the school, passed a few minutes chatting, and then eagerly slipped in the back door of the classroom. No one was crying. Definitely a good sign. I looked around, searching for my child, and he was nowhere to be seen.

Now, I have to give myself a pat on the back here that I didn't panic. After all, his older sister pulled the same trick five years ago. Wise to the ways of preschoolers, I peeked in the plastic tunnels and found my little boy playing happily inside with two darling little girls. Smart boy, huh? I told him it was time to go, he looked at his new friends, looked back at me and said, "Can we stay a while longer?" So much for him getting traumatized by his first day at school. Maybe tomorrow, I'll get adjusted too!