Today was Riley’s first day of Kindergarten. I kept thinking of the movie Finding Nemo. Aside from the obvious “First day of school! First day of school!” scene, I could relate to Marlin (Nemo’s dad for those of you who haven’t seen the movie because you dwell in the outskirts of the Himalayas and let’s face it, you’re not going to be reading some narcissistic blog anyway) and his struggle as an overprotective parent.
Riley with her best friend.
The hand-holding was completely unprompted.
Instinctively, all parents want to ensure no one will hurt our kid’s feelings, that they share with their peers, and they wash their hands when they’re supposed to. I expect the desire to comfort and protect them will intensify when they’re about 18 years old. Especially if it involves issues such as not being accepted to the University of Utah and having to attend BYU instead. That they don’t eat a dog turd, roll bowling balls down 1800 south, or stick marshmallows between their butt cheeks & run around, no matter how important the dare may seem.
I have to remind myself that it's not the end of the world if she doesn't always remember to brush her teeth, outfit's she picks out won't always match, and it’s ok to let her “touch the butt.” I won't always be there to hold her hand and she may get hurt on occasion. Failure is also a part of learning and though it may be difficult, it’s also a crucial part of growing up. In the meantime, I’ll try to be more like Crush and sit back for a few and watch what Squirt can do.
My first day of Kindergarten, 1981.
Check out my chic Velour shirt (picked that out myself) and creased jeans!
What a cute post! I hope I can see Ireland's first day of kindergarten the same way you have. I am still freaked out about her getting her feelings hurt. Love and miss you Racha.
ReplyDeleteAWESOME!! They grow up so fast. She is so adorable. It is hard to let go (I still have issues with that and my baby is going to be 23 in a couple of months). My grandson starts next Monday and his mother always bawls the night before big steps.
ReplyDeleteSo where's the follow up post? Did you manage to keep it together until Riley got into the school? Letting her touch the butt doesn't mean we're not allowed to bawl like a baby when they're not looking. Hope you both had a great first day of school. And, btw, I'm loving the retro pics--I think I had those same jeans!
ReplyDeleteI still remember that first day of kinder. Thank goodness they didn't seperate my twins. Of course I had some pull back then. :)
ReplyDeleteI remember the teacher telling all the parents they could leave now & everything would be ok. So as I walked out of the classroom I said "take care of your grandsons mom. See you after school". Yep, pull I had. :)
(it was still hard)
I HEART reading your blog, you blogsterer you! The velour shirt is rockin' awesome.:)
ReplyDelete