Wednesday 4 September 2013

First Day of School

Well, we survived yet another first day of school and we now have two kids in school!!  I know it's totally cliche and you think we all would be used to how quickly time seems to slip by but WOW!!  I can't believe Evie's already in grade two and Noli is officially a kindergartner!!  Life truly does fly by.

I remember dropping Evie off on her first day of school three years ago, turning her loose and watching her settle in on a blue circular rocking toy (horrible description I know).  Funny thing is that Noli was naturally drawn to the same toy yesterday on her first day.  Both girls did wonderfully this year despite some nerves and initial chaos due to the school trying a new way of "organizing" the kids into their classes.

Sometimes we don't give kids enough credit for the bravery that they must summon up on a pretty regular basis.  Despite their small size and limited sample size of life and experience we toss them into the world and ask them to do things many adults still have trouble doing.  Images from Lord of the Flies often invade my thoughts as I watch the kids in the school playground.  It's wild.  On a daily basis they must navigate new places and faces while digesting and applying new rules, social norms, ideas and lessons.  They are constantly pushed out of their comfort zone and are expected to do so with grace and poise.

I was watching Evie play in the playground this morning.  She stopped, looked my way and started coming in my direction.  I was expecting to get a hug and a kiss most likely followed by permission to leave ("hint hint Daddy, it's okay for you to go now!).  I didn't even get that.  As she drew nearer it became painfully obvious that she wasn't looking at me (despite seeing me), she was looking past me (I won't say through me).  Her buddy had arrived and after greeting him, the two of them ran off after their friends without so much as a wave of acknowledgment to the old man.  *TEAR*  Last year she was blowing kisses left and right to me as she slowly took her leave from me...seriously there were at least 50 kisses blown in my direction, so many that I was having trouble catching them all.  Oh well...that's the way it's supposed to go I suppose. 

Gee willickers they grow up fast!!

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