Last Night in Pre-School

Well, folks, this is it. Tomorrow is the first day of kindergarten for Madison, my baby who came to us at 3 1/2 lbs. When did she grow up?? I know this is what every parent says as a child goes off to kindergarten, but this is different because this is MY child. I never thought I would be emotional about her going to kindergarten because I have always been a working mother and day care is just part of life. What I never took into consideration is what kindergarten means. Until now, Madison has been under our supervision. She is part of our family, she belongs. Kindergarten signals her entrance into the world. She will now be under the influence of a system larger than her family, bigger than her parents. Being part of this larger system will affect our entire family, dictating when we go on vacation, when we sleep in, when we stay up late, when we do so many things. Now we share her with a small piece of the world. Wow.

On the other hand, I am so stinking proud of my baby I can hardly stand it. While her listening skills leave much to be desired, she is hysterically funny, extremely outgoing, joyful through and through, and a generally fun person to hang out with. I know she will make lots of friends and have lots of fun at her new school. The whole world is open to her now that she can read and what she learns this year will be the basis for her entire education. As I write this, the first African American man is being nominated as the candidate for the Democratic party of the United States of America. ALL things are possible for Madison. Hope abounds in America and at Forest Creek Elementary.

Tonight, she had a bath, packed the lunch box and the back pack. We sat on the couch to read The Night Before Kindergarten again. We have talked at length about what will happen tomorrow and she is totally excited. I had so much fear as a child. I remember being terrifyed the first day of school, but Madison can hardly wait. Here she is modeling the back pack, which I predict is going to be too small, but we have to start somewhere.



Stay tuned for the update tomorrow. I can hardly wait to hear about her day. My baby - the kindergartener.