First day of preschool

Not long after her birthday adventure, Princess finally got to the day she has been waiting for for years. She finally got to go to school! For weeks she had been wearing her shiny new backpack every day to the bus stop to drop  off her sister, perhaps hoping that the bus driver would decide she was ready and take her too. It didn't matter that I kept telling her there was no preschool bus, she still was hoping. Then, a few weeks before, we went and bought a new shirt just special for the first day of school. That shirt sat on her dresser where she could stroke it and talk to it and imagine her perfect, wonderful, exciting first day of school. 

And then the day finally came, and she had to wait all the way until clear after lunch before it was finally time to go. That took about three years to get to lunch that day, but it finally came, and then it was time to go. She couldn't even stop jumping around excitedly long enough for some first day of school pictures. 

When we got to school she was shy enough to have finally stopped jumping, but the excitement level didn't go down much. (I think all preschool teachers should be sainted, I don't know how they do it!)

She now thinks that because this is the shirt we bought for her first day of school, that this is her "school shirt." As in, this is the only shirt she can wear to school ever. I must admit to purposely not washing it sometimes to show her that she can have some variety. 

After dropping her off that first day, I drove home. All alone. There was no one with me at all, no little voices incessantly calling my name. Yes, I cried. I bawled! This is my last little baby, and here she is old enough to be going to school and then I was home all alone and it was so, so, so very quiet. I moped and whined on Facebook and cried until it was time to go get her. 

The second day she went to preschool I was sad and the quiet was oppressive, but there weren't any tears. Well, at least not many.

Not long after she left the third day, I suddenly realized that I was dancing around the house eating chocolate, and the house was so quiet! So blissfully quiet! There were no little voices incessantly calling my name! Aaahhh!!

We have both adjusted well now. Her teacher is a friend of mine, and sent me this picture during one of her first days there.

She loves school so much! She is a smarty pants who really needed this. She has even already started reading, and brings home books to read for her homework. I'm so proud of my little school girl!