Now, I’m sure in the United States anyway, the first day of Kindergarten is a huge deal. It’s the first day of ‘real’ school, most likely a bus involved, new clothes, and lots of tears. Today was that day for us, but it was for 1st grade. And no tears – for her or her parents!
She was up before my alarm clock went off, did everything I asked her to this morning without complaint, and was ever-mindful of the clock and not being late (the bus comes at 8am exactly every morning). I did manage some pictures, but she was so excited that I barely got a kiss from her as she loaded up on the bus and met the rest of the kids on their way to school. How long does all that last? I need to gear up for the backlash when mornings become a struggle to get her to the bus stop on time.
Why is 1st grade the BIGGIE for her? Well, Kidlette was in a Montessori preschool that was very well suited for her personality and learning style, so I kept her there for Kindergarten. So, today, her first day of public school 1st grade, is the BIG DAY for us. Before, I had to drive her to Kindergarten every day. That meant I had to be awake and functional at an early hour. With being near the end of my pregnancy and not getting much sleep, driving was becoming a hazard that early in the morning. Not to mention business phone calls that would have to be scheduled around me picking her up or switched to a cell phone so I could drive to get her. Walking her three houses down to pick up the bus and not having to drive is a huge deal for me.
The way I see it, I’ve got about 9 weeks to go before baby #2 is born. Actually I’m hoping for 8 weeks, only because I would like a Halloween baby, not because I’m inpatient. I am a firm believer that babies need to cook as long as they need to before being born, not scheduled to appear into this world to fit into the schedule of the parents.
What I can’t risk is a baby born ANY EARLIER than Halloween. I’ve got too much to do, too many places / conferences to attend, too much work to finish. And that’s not even taking into account that I have not purchased one stinkin’ item for this new baby. Nor have we come any closer on picking a name. At least in the 8-9 weeks from now until ‘labor day’, I will have some quiet time to myself to start checking off my massive to-do list.
Kidlette will hopefully settle into some yet-unknown schedule with 1st grade (do they get homework???) and I will be forced to be more productive at home. I have a 1/2 day today to figure out what my schedule on a daily basis will look like for the next 9 weeks. After the baby is born, the only things that dictate how my day goes is my kids and my clients (sorry to my husband).
But until the watermellon in my belly decides to go public, I’ve got a plan. And, yes, it does include getting my hair and nails done!
Congrats on having a school kid Lyn! My son started full-day kindergarten a couple weeks ago. No bus though as we live a block from school. I couldn’t decide if it was harder on us as parents or on our daughter who lost her daytime playmate.
Hang in their girl!