Big day for the big girl

Today was a big day for our big girl. Lindy started preschool this morning. "What?" you ask. "Who starts their kid in preschool on a Thursday in the middle of November?" We did... On Tuesday night I got a call from my friend letting me know an opening had come up in the three year old class where she teaches and that she could begin on Thursday if we wanted.

To be honest, I've felt very behind the curve ball on the subject of preschool. I was under the notion that preschool was pretty much the same as day care and Mother's Day Out with a bit more structure, so I was very surprised when I learned so many of my SAHM friends sent their kids to school. I think Don just assumed she'd be home with me until Kindergarten and that we'd save the money and I'd continue to "homeschool" her to help prepare her academically. Lindy is a very social child and also gets a lot of socialization through bible classes, MOPS, and other interactions. I've seen her make great improvement in the area of getting along with other kids which really encourages and pleases me. I also work with her academically and I continue to see her develop and learn. However, there are some things that are just harder to model and teach when you have an only child who is very independent and pretty strong-willed. For the most part I think Don and I knew we'd send her when she was four to help get her ready for a full day at school and being in a classroom with a teacher and other children.

When the opportunity came up suddenly, I really think it nudged us both off the fence. Lindy has been BEGGING to go to school for at least a year now and I knew she'd be thrilled. When I thought about sending her at four, this is the school I wanted her to attend. It is a very small program at a local church and we know several of the kids and one of the teachers. It is also very close to our house and extremely inexpensive. I just never thought we'd get to send her there because it is pretty difficult to get into because of its size.

There are days that I thought the day she went off to school couldn't come fast enough. I know that sounds awful. It's true, though. Lindy is a wonderful child and my true delight but she's also very high energy and non-stop. She doesn't play with toys much but instead wants me to take part of her very large make believe world. The battery pack on her rarely gives out and it can be exhausting trying to keep up with her and listen to her talk ALL DAY LONG (a blessing, I know). So, given all that, you'd think I would've been shouting out for joy at the prospect of two days with time for myself. I did not. I did quite the opposite. I cried and have been crying on and off for two days. Start humming "Sunrise, Sunset" from Fiddler on the Roof in your head and that's how I've been feeling...

I've heard that from the moment you say hello to a baby, you're beginning to say goodbye. That was really how I felt today. As I brought Lindy into school, she was pretty much pushing through the crowd to get to her destination. She was so excited. I was so excited for her but as I walked out of her classroom and stood in the hallway to watch her and talk to another mother, Lindy caught me looking in on her and said, "Mom can you go away?" It sounds rude but I know that was my little girl's way of telling me she was fine...

Lindy had a great time. After I picked her up, we ran a quick errand and she kept telling me she needed to sit down for a rest. When we got home, she immediately took off her shoes and plopped on the couch and said, "Phew...that was a really good day." I wasn't even in the room so she wasn't addressing me. It was just her unwinding...

And me? Oh, I'll be fine...I'm thrilled about this opportunity that God sent us and I know it'll be great. I just feel kind of like the words of this song by Zach Gill:

Watch Them Grow

She’s close to God, I’m sure of that
She sits him down and they have a chat
She asks for sunshine and he agrees
You see for her, he’d do anything

You watch them grow then you let 'em go

She is a monkey and I’m her tree
Now she’s climbing all over me
Swinging on my vines dancing on my limbs
Her monkey sounds sound like angels hymns

You watch them grow then you let 'em go

She is an angel, she is an imp
She’s got a big toe and her mother’s lips
She gives fishy kisses and great big bear hugs
42 pounds of pure love
Then one day she’ll be 17, feeling too big for her home
Seems she was just only 3, oh how our children they grow

You watch them grow then you let 'em go

Then one day she’ll be 33, maybe with a child of her own
Seems she was just 17, oh how our children they grow

He’ll ask for sunshine and she’ll agree
You see for him she’d do anything
He is her child, the center of her world
She is his mother, my little girl

You watch them grow then you let 'em go

Can't go to school without eating a good breakfast...

I was able to get a couple shots of her before we left home but the lighting was awful.

As soon as she got there, she began playing.

She's in a class with all girls, including her friend, Mia.

I snapped this one from the pick up line. She's learning to use the rings and that you don't always get to be first or get the color handle you want.

A shot with her teacher, Miss Theresa.