Abigail Starts Kindergarten!

All year I have felt that Abigail was more than prepared for Kindergarten,. She has been used to daycare her whole life and she absolutely thrives when learning, prefers learning to play actually. (Yes, if you're reading, Natalie, Alexandra and Jonathan - as you predicted, I have raised a little "Matilda"). She is also much more socially confident than we ever could have expected when she was an anxiety-ridden toddler. So, my feelings toward Kindergarten have mirrored Abigail's all year - willing, prepared, excited, and ready for the change.

When we got to The First Day, though, things were different. I was surprised that I was, indeed, emotional. As big as she looks in the pictures above, suddenly she was my tiny little Abigail Rae. My baby from 2007! Carrying a backpack bigger and heavier than she, with a little lunch of half a sandwich and a packet of Goldfish, and wearing her new light-up sneakers, she was still ... my Abigail. I had to hide the lump in my throat and keep up my excitement to keep up hers. So we did The First Day with smiles and laughter, and daddy and I saved our melancholy until we got to the car afterwards. I'm so proud of her, and still so in love with her.

Speaking of love, and the separation anxiety that comes with starting Kindergarten, nobody in our house has had it as bad as ..... her father. If I had a lump in my throat, Jake had a boulder. My most favourite thing about him is that he IS the world's most dedicated daddy. I mean it! He and Abigail are so incredibly close (as a side-note, Bryony seems to be very mummy-attached so we've both got it good). A worry-wart by nature, this transition from daycare to Kindergarten has caused him both sleepless nights and headaches (I have had to remind him that this is NOTHING compared to what he'll deal with when they are both, say, 15 and 19 years old!) By week two, the teacher had to suggest that maybe he can stop coming to the playground now. One afternoon, he was left dejected in the parking lot as Abigail told him "hi dad, thanks for coming, but can I please ride the bus?" This is his girl. His side-kick. His lil' buddy who still looks just like him when she frowns at me. He is having a hard time watching her go, and entrusting her care to new teachers, new nurses, new aides, and especially new daycare bus drivers (aaaagh - they're on the ROADS with her ;). Despite being so proud of her, he is a little bit heartbroken. And my own heart swells with so much love for him because of it. 

her first 'crush' - Cody

close friend Tyler who rides the bus back to daycare with her

First Day Artwork: this is "daddy and me surfing"