I Survived!

Yes, this week A & B started kindergarten. What an experience! School supplies went to Miss E’s class last Thursday for Open House, backpacks with matching lunch bag (aka snack bag), were packed and clothes for the 1st day of school were chosen. And I faced these challenges all on my own!


Call it poor timing or a bad coincidence, but my hubby had to be in Minneapolis for work this week. He travels twice a year (once to AZ in January, once to MN in August) and it just so happened that his conference was scheduled for A & B’s first day of school. He (and I) were broken hearted. (But don’t worry – plenty of pictures were taken!) Plus, my normal back-ups/life savers – aka Grandma and Grandpa – decided to take vacation this week too!

So on Tuesday morning, off we went to kindergarten in the Mom mobile - A & B all dressed up with the Ariel and Hello Kitty backpacks and snack bags and Mommy with her camera and a heavy heart. They walked right in to their class, sat at their tables and began working on the coloring pages Miss E had already laid out (she is a GREAT teacher!). And there I was, “bothering” them by snapping pictures.

In all honesty, part of me was very proud of them for their independence, but the other part of me wanted them to cling to me a little/need me a little more. When A asked me for a favor, I thought – YES! But all she wanted me to do was hang up her snack bag before I left.

I do realize that I am very lucky to have such independent and easy going girls. And, so far, they love school! So I am counting my blessings that this continues.

But as Darius Rucker sings in It Won’t Be Like This For Long, “someday soon that little girl is gonna be all grown up and gone.” I would like to hold on for a little longer. (And yes, I did cry at this song and many others this week!).

I hope everyone’s school week was this easy!

Jean Anne

Open House

Tonight, we head to kindergarten open house for A & B. This is our chance to ask questions, meet their teacher, bring school supplies, and generally provide A & B a chance to check out the “lay of the land” before they start next Tuesday.


To be perfectly honest, I think I am definitely less prepared then the girls are. We have all the school supplies (thank you Target and my credit card thanks you as well) and our Ariel and Hello Kitty backpacks are totally stylin’. Plus, we have driven by multiple times, stopped at the playground and even had softball practice at the school. Each time, we prep A & B for the change, explaining that as of next week, this will be there new school. And, to their credit, they are excited.

I, however, am nervous. As Mandi discussed earlier this week, I share many similar concerns. What if some kid bullies them? What if some one doesn’t want to share with them? What about cliques? What about getting teased for what they are wearing? And yes, I know that these things will happen…but it just breaks my heart. And how do I prepare them for this?

Right now, A & B have no fear of making new friends or going to a new school. As a comfort, they do have each other and they are in the same class. So I need to continue to follow their lead and put on a brave face. My girls definitely have a lot to teach me about the world.

Have a great day!

Jean Anne

Ready or not...

5...4...3...2...1...ready or not here it comes. By it, I mean school, kindergarten to be exact. Yes, this year I am experiencing the world of the first day of school as my daughter J is heading to kindergarten.

I’ll admit I never thought I would be one of those Moms that got all worked up over starting kindergarten. Sure I knew I’d tear up, take a ton of pictures, and have flashbacks to the day J was born, but I never knew that I’d feel like this.

However, alas here I am the Friday before my daughter becomes a “school-aged kid” and I’m finding that this transition has been much harder on me than putting away the high chair, watching the last of the baby dresses get sold at garage sale, or packing up the crib.

I’m not sure why I’ve been so down about J starting school. After all, J has been “away” from me her whole life due to the fact I have to work. But somehow, dropping my daughter off at daycare is a whole different ball game than dropping her at school.

It doesn’t help that my daughter is the first in our family to start school. You mothers of girls will understand what I mean, it would be so much easier if H or L were going first. With boys, they get shy, grippy to their Moms, and maybe even nervous, but they don’t get “dramatic” about changes like this. They don’t sweat the small stuff. A girl? Well, that’s a whole different story. Each night when I tuck J to bed I am interrogated with countless questions like: “What if they don’t like me?”, “What if they don’t like my Hello Kitty backpack??”, “Mommy you bought me yellow pencils, what if everyone else has colors??”, “What if they make fun of me??”

With each question a piece of my heart flakes away and I get this pit in my stomach. Even though I know from experience how amazing school is and how much fun lies a head of her, I also know that starting school means the start of so much drama for J. So although I would love to tell J that all kids are good and no one will ever be mean to her, I know that’s just not true.

And suddenly I flash forward way past kindergarten to the bad parts of school…hurt feelings, broken hearts, mean teachers that should retire but won’t retire, awkward moments, pop quizzes you aren’t prepared for, first crushes that don’t know you exist, etc. etc. etc. I know these are funny things to think about when you kid is just starting kindergarten, but still the thoughts are there.

The truth of the matter is that starting school means starting reality. To date J only knows that good guys always win, a princess is always saved, and everyone lives happily ever after. Now, she’s about to hear “the other side of the story”.

I think what makes this extra hard on me is, unlike J, I am the baby of my family. I never had to do anything first. I could watch my brothers go through things before I had to do something. Before I started a school, everyone already knew me and I had been to the school dozens of times. I’m used to going last. So to me the idea of going first seems impossible. Nobody is giving her a preview of what’s in store for her. She has to blaze this trail for herself and ultimately for her brothers.

Now don’t get me wrong, I have full confidence in J’s abilities. I have no doubt in my mind that she is ready. I mean if anyone can blaze trails it’s J. She has walked to the beat of her own drum since before she could walk! She is incredibly social, smart, and adaptable. But, still there I am sitting at Unpack your Backpack and wondering why all the kids in J’s class seem so much bigger than her.

But ready or not, come Tuesday my daughter will be a kindergartner. And like it or not, I have to just sit back and watch it from “a far”. I can’t do it with her. I can’t tell all the kids in her class about her true nature and awesome personality, I can’t make friends for her, I can’t hold her hand.

So ready or not Moms...here we go. It’s tough and unfortunately no one can really understand the feelings you feel except those who have been through it. You are going to find (well at least I am finding) that your feelings will be all over the place and won’t make sense: You’ll go from worrying about if they know how to get a lunch tray to being excited for them to learn to read, all in the same minute! So good luck out there. Yes, they’ll get through it, and we’ll get through it with some prayers, hope, love, and loads of Kleenex.

Mandi