I've been mentally preparing, for this, an entire year. Today is Ella's first day of preschool.
My heart is heavy, as I type away in an empty house...well, not empty, as Darrell is here...but he'll be asleep all day since he's on third shift.
I've taken Ella to meet/get to know her teacher, a few times before today. We both fell in love with her. She's got the most precious heart, and seems to adore Ella, as well. We spent a couple of hours in class, with her, yesterday. It was orientation, but she allowed the children to play and the parents to hang around to get to know her (In fact, in the last picture, you can see all of our artwork on the table from that visit! The little hand is Ella's. She's into tracing her hand, these days! The larger hand is her teacher's, who was sweet enough to draw with us. You can also see a flower, sun, little people, and a tailless kite that Ella drew. You may even see her name somewhere in there. We drew all over that table!). There weren't many children there, which is why I believe Ella enjoyed her time there so much. She gets really overwhelmed in crowds...as do I. She didn't want to leave, as she was having so much fun. I was so hopeful last night! She was really excited about getting to go back today. This morning, on the other hand. Oy vey. She wasn't near as thrilled and the thought of being there, without me, hit her hard! It was an emotional morning, to say the least. It only got worse the closer we got to her classroom. The class was slap full of screaming children and concerned parents. Of course, not all of the children were screaming...but it sure sounded like it! Ella didn't want to step foot into that chaos...nor did I. What a scene!
Darrell was there, as well. He had a hard time leaving her. Sweet Daddy. She sat in her chair and held on to his pant leg for dear life.
Soon, her teacher put little name tag necklaces on each child, and I introduced all the cute little girls at Ella's table to her...and vice versa. They were all sweet and shy, like Ella, but I think that they warmed up to one another a little after that. Once her teacher announced that they would be lining up to make their way to the cafeteria for breakfast, I kissed her goodbye, and quickly departed. I assumed Darrell was close behind me. Such was not the case. When I peeked back into the classroom, he was still standing by her chair. :0)
Shockingly enough, I didn't cry. At school, that is. A year's worth of mental prep poured out of me soon after pulling into the driveway, however. It's all just happened so fast.
Because of a recent budget cut in the preschool program, they started twenty days later than everyone else. Why they chose today, the Thursday before Labor Day, to begin the program, is beyond me. Praying that next Tuesday isn't near as difficult as today was.
***UPDATE:
Darrell and I waited, anxiously in the car lane, for the first sight of our big preschool girl holding hands with her brother. We both had been praying that our first sight of her would catch her with her happy face on. Our prayers were answered! She was excited to tell us all about her first day, and about her new friends...AND, she can't wait to go back tomorrow! Praise the Lord! :0)
Relishing in His goodness..
