We did it!

Well, we all survived our first day of school! After a very fitful sleep (couldn't get my mind to settle down), I woke up yesterday morning around 5:30 to get ready for work. I had stayed up fairly late the night before preparing a few things for my students on their first day. Caroline loves to help me out in my classroom, so she wanted to go in early with me. Despite my feeling that she needed more sleep, I woke her up at 6:15, she hopped right out of bed, and the two of us were at school before 7:00. She sharpened pencils and cut circles tracers while I made copies in the work room. At 8:00, Tony brought Ellis and Gillian to my room, and together the five of us, backpacks, supplies, and cameras in hand, walked to the main building (I'm out on the "back 40" in one of the portables, remember?) to take Gillian to her very first day of kindergarten.


It was a little overwhelming for her, I think. You know, eeeeeeeveryone personally drops their kindergarteners off. No kissing them goodbye at the bus stop on the first day. No sending them with the carpool. And we're no different. I had to get our media specialist to cover my own classroom so I could experience this rite of passage with Gillian. So Tony had the video camera rolling, I had the digital still camera, Caroline played the big sister role perfectly, showing Gillian where her seat was, helping her with her backpack, and Ellis was his usual encouraging self, telling her "You're going to love it, Gillian!" Still, even with a legion of supporters, her already big brown eyes seemed to widen and moisten as she looked around at what seemed like a thousand people cramming into the classroom. She was shy and uncertain, and as I began to take my leave, she said with a shaky little voice, "My ear is hurting. It hurts really bad."

Great. My mind started churning. Does she have an ear infection? Is it really hurting, or is she just nervous? She did have a sinus infection just two weeks ago, and we've only just finished up her antibiotics. Hmm. I've got to get Ellis dropped off and get to my classroom. Am I a terrible mom if I don't try to get to the bottom of this right here, right NOW? There are students and possibly THEIR parents arriving in my classroom this very minute!

I decided that, like almost every other kindergartener that had come before her, Gillian would be fine. And I, her mother, would be fine, too. I assured her that this would be the case, and if her ear really DID hurt during the day, she should tell her teacher, and she would know what to do. (But I did make a mental note to get some children's ibuprofen to keep in my classroom for just such an occasion.)

So after kisses from the whole family, we left her there to start working on the activity already on her table, and headed down the hallway to Ellis' classroom. He's an old pro, of course, and this year he's excited to move out of primary (K and 1st) and into transitional (2nd and 3rd), because he gets his very own desk (as opposed to a table) where he can keep all his own supplies. Most of the kids from his class last year are with him again, including his best buddy, Mark, so the dropping off experience was short and sweet. Caroline and I said our goodbye's to Ellis and Tony there, and the two of us rushed back to Portable Land. I gave her a quick kiss and sent her off to her classroom, which is right next to mine.

And then I began my very first day as Mrs. Byrd, 4th grade teacher. We didn't get through nearly enough of the things I had planned, but they did eat lunch, and they did get home the correct way. I'd call that a success.

Now it's 11:00 on Tuesday morning, and I'm posting this blog from my home. Why? Because this is Florida, and it's hurricane season, and yesterday Tropical Storm Fay was threatening to become a category 1 hurricane and make landfall just south of Tampa Bay. So all the area counties called off school for today. But the storm never really strengthened, and it hit Naples (much farther south than had been predicted) early this morning, so we'll see the nasty weather bands sometime this evening, and we'll go back to soggy school grounds tomorrow.