Thursday, September 2, 2010

First Day of School!

Sometimes, you get a glimpse of how you and those around you are able to handle a lot more than you ever thought possible.

My kids started kindergarten and 2nd grade on Monday. I woke up with the flu.

Husband, rushing out the door: "Do you want me to take the day off?"
Me: "No."
Husband: "Are you sure? The first day of school needs to go totally smoothly, without any wrinkles. Are you sure you can do that?"
Me, smiling and waving: "No problem." (Silently thinking: "You can actually take the day off?? - during your residency?? Why didn't you tell me that before?? Yes! Please stay home today!!)

We would be fine. Nothing would prevent me from taking them to school, not even a horrible flu bug. I had been counting down the minutes until 8:00 a.m. Monday morning for weeks. My kids left me sick in bed. They got dressed, made and ate their own breakfasts, made and packed their own lunches, and then woke up their two-year old brother and helped him get dressed and ready to go. They then assured me that they would just ride the bus. And that would have worked for me, (I was SO sick), but they didn't know where their classrooms were or who their teachers were. That would have been interesting.

Everything ached and I moved slowly. Finally, they were all buckled in the car and waiting for me, and we HAD TO LEAVE in order to be on time. I felt awful as I turned to get into the car, stopped, and doubled over.

Talk about wrinkles. There were so many, I can't even count them. Luckily for me, they are amazing kids.

After I got into the car with the kids, my 5-year old daughter said, "Mom, aren't you glad we won't be home today to torture you while you're sick?" But, they had been so helpful, I wondered if I should let go of them during my moment of desperation and sickness. That thought didn't last long.

When I picked them up after school, my 5-year old, who had her first FULL day of kindergarten, said to me, "Mom! I thought I was going to go full-day!" I replied, "Honey, you were there for 6 and 1/2 hours! Don't you feel at all ready to come home??"  "No," she said gumpily, and then added, "I am so glad that I am going full day."

Incredible, but wonderful. They are happy. I am happy. Now we just have to get rid of the flu bug.



(The authorized dealer from COMCAST left my front door step earlier this afternoon. I could not thank him profusely enough for setting us up with incredibly fast and reliable internet service. I will never forget him, really. And I will never be bitter about one cent that I pay for this service. Ever.)

1 comment:

Lillian said...

I love how her shoes are untied! :)
Way to go, getting the first day of school all handled while dealing with the flu! You should all get a prize for that.