The One About Gavin's First Day of Kindergarten

     The day he has been dreading all summer....the first day of Kindergarten is over.  After all that anxiety, he did so well.  I am so proud of him, especially after the last few days that he has had.  Gavin's molars are coming in, and he has been miserable since Sunday evening.  He has had a nonstop fever, and then yesterday the congestion set in.  Poor little guy!  You can tell he feels like heck just by looking into his eyes.  Regardless, he got up early, ate breakfast, and even smiled for some pictures.

      As you can see, we didn't really pay as much attention to Asher's hair this morning.  It's a wreck!  ha ha  We were so focused on getting Gavin fed, clean, teeth brushed, dressed nice, pictures taken, etc...  As for the markerboard, Gavin couldn't really decide what he wanted to be when he grows up.  He finally said, "I want to help Daddy on the farm a little bit, but I don't want to work all day."  ha ha  Sounds like Uncle Travis!
     We dropped Asher off to daycare and then Ernie and I both took Gavin into his classroom.  I was holding my emotions together until we started walking toward the school.  Then I had a hard time stopping the tears.  My Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Ritter, actually met me in the hallway to see how I was doing...which was funny.  She is still teaching in Ewing.  At first, there weren't a lot of other kids there so Gavin sat at his desk and waited patiently.  He was disappointed that he, Michael, and Parker were all at three different tables. 

      As the kids came in, the parents lined up to the side.  Gavin's teacher didn't let the parents hang around for long.  She told the kids to wave goodbye to us, so we slowly made our way out.  When we told Gavin goodbye, he said, "No" but then let us go without a fight.  No tears...no chasing us down the hall.  One thing that made me happy is that one of Shayla's good friends, Sarah, was just hired as a paraeducator in Ewing.  She will be helping in the Kindergarten room every morning.  Gavin knows her well, as she also taught the summer preschool he attended last summer.  Because his teacher is brand new, it will be comforting to have a familiar face in the classroom.  Ernie talked to Sarah after school and she said he did great!
     The kids got out of school at noon, and because I had to be at work today, Ernie picked Gavin up.  I told him to text me to let me know how it went.  Right at 12:00, Ernie texted me a picture of a smiling Gavin giving the camera a thumbs-up.  That was all I needed to see.  His smile said it all.  :)

     When I got home, Gavin told me that he forgot all about me after I left.  I have been telling him all summer that he wouldn't care if I stayed with him because he would be having so much fun that he would forget I was even there.  He said he had a fun day, especially recess.  One of the other boys even lost a tooth this morning during school.  Gavin told me he didn't talk today, but did assure me that he answered questions if the teacher asked him something.  Something tells me that we are going to have the exact opposite problem when Asher goes to Kindergarten. 
     I am really glad to get today over with.  First days are always hard.  I think Gavin is going to be just fine now, and I would say that the first day of Kindergarten was a huge success!!