Two Very Different First Days of School
Monique | Tuesday, September 11, 2012 at 11:18AM 
We sent Mercutio off on his very first day of Pre-Kindergarten yesterday, and Christian had to hold me because I kept collapsing into sobs the entire time he was gone. It was pretty rough.
I didn't worry this much when we sent Caesar to school last year. He and Mercutio are so different; Caesar loves to be social, while Mercutio is far more introverted, Caesar is loud and Mercutio is quiet, Caesar is gung ho and Mercutio needs lots of time to consider doing any activity that isn't doodling or writing letters.
When Caesar started first grade last week, it was like a scene from a movie - kid struts down the hallway and teachers and students pop out of their classrooms, go out of their way, to say hello to him, to tell him they like his Batman backpack, or his cool new haircut. They remember the stuff he brought last year; the Ninja Turtle backpack with hood and interchangeable masks, the cool colored jeans, the sneakers - oh my god, they remembered his freaking sneakers!
It was reminiscent of being in high school with his father, the kid who would put one toe on the bus and be regaled with chants of his name. I'm dead serious, it was so annoying.
Despite an hour long meeting with his wonderful teacher, I was sending Mercutio into the very situation that he has trouble thriving in. I felt like I was punishing him.
And then when I walked him to his classroom yesterday to squeals of "Oh my gosh! It's a LITTLE CAESAR!" I felt like I was dooming him to live in his brother's huge shadow, like I did with my younger, and much more personable, sister.
But he held his head high, said "My name is Macky!" and he too strutted his way to the classroom {which is located perfectly right next door to Caesar's}. He walked in and said his hellos, he followed his teacher's instructions and as soon as he looked ready to get rid of me, I squeezed him tightly, took a deep breath and left him behind.
And then I held onto the window frame the whole day, counting down the seconds until his return. I'm half joking, of course. When he walked off the school bus {another thing I had to give into this year} he looked morose, and I immediately bit my lip and hoped he was just concentrating on the signals the bus driver gives and holding onto his Titi and Brother's hands.
Then he walked right past me, like I wasn't even standing there with bright purple hair and a camera in his face. {Turns out they all agreed to race as soon as they made it to the safety of our driveway}
When we all got home we talked about our days and he expressed total bliss at being in school, and making a friend and we were overjoyed. Phew! It's day two and I'm much more comfortable than I was yesterday.
Now, Christian is perfectly relaxed about having the morning of mostly quiet when we're not busy playing with Severus, or taking care of stuff around the house, but it completely unnerves me.
I pace, I whine, I find anything to do and then I instantaneously get tired of doing it. I wile away the hours in the most pathetic fashion, all I can do is hope my precious Minions return home so I have some chaos again.
I am not about this life, y'all, I don't know if or when I'll adjust to it, but maybe I need a hobby.
Reader Comments (4)
I feel a little of your pain! When the 3yo is gone, I dive into my school work as soon as I can so that I can forget he's gone! It seems like no time at all when my phone goes off with a text that says, "We're on our way!" Then I jump up and wait outside to hear his welcoming call of "MAMAAAA!" It does sound like both your boys are going to have great years ahead of them! I can't believe Mercutio is already in Pre-K!
I think coming over and watching MY kids while I sleep would be an awesome hobby. Seriously. I have coffee :)
Wow what a difference a couple of years can make!
They look so grown up!! Sigh. My kids are like that too. The bigger one wants to be so cool and independant. The youngest - at nearly 10 - still such a Mama's Boy. He would drag me to school and sit through class every day if I would/could!