Just... Thankful.

As far as I can tell, yesterday was a resounding success for our family's First Day of Public School.

I wonder why I was so afraid of public school? I guess it was a stigma I grew up with, because in San Diego, public schools CAN be scary. But both my kids went to school yesterday with joy and excitement, and came home yesterday afternoon very nearly bursting with news of their "fun" classes and "favorite" things about their new schools.

Susie's teacher even emailed parents yesterday, mid-day, to let us all know that our kids were happy, there were no tears, and everyone was having a jolly day... and also, please remember to send your kids in with a snack, a towel for rest time, and a change of clothes. :-)

I promptly emailed her right back to say a great big thank you for helping us feeble parents on the first day of school as much as she is helping our 4 and 5 year olds. That is excellent communication right there!

Leah has been in school for three years already - this is her fourth year, but her first year full-time. One year of pre-school, one year of pre-K, one year of Kindergarten... and historically, she is the one who doesn't like to talk about what happens at school. The first few years her answers to my questions were always something along the lines of "I can't tell you - it's a secret." Last year I got involved in her classroom by volunteering weekly, so I had some idea of what school was like for her and we could talk better about our shared experiences... but she still didn't volunteer information. So this is why I was extremely surprised when she bounded into the car yesterday afternoon and promptly told me "Mom, my new class is SO MUCH FUN!!!!" ... So out of "character" for her. So good for me to hear. She filled us in on some more details over dinner... such as, who cried and why (somebody fell on the sidewalk, and somebody else missed their dead dog), what hot lunch was (cheese pizzadilla, it was all white, and it was yummy!), and no, Hayden did not get in trouble all day, and neither did she. :-)

Susie, of course, is very communicative. I don't have to ask her much to get her talking about anything, and school was no exception. She loved EVERYTHING about her new school, ESPECIALLY the PLAYGROUND. She made LOTS of new friends, even two new BOYfriends, but she can't remember their names. Her teacher is funny. Sometimes, though, her tummy hurt a little bit, but that's when she would get Bear out of her backpack and give him a hug, and then she would feel better. AND, she learned to be quiet during gym class. She couldn't do everything they tried in gym, but she practiced. And she had CHOC'LATE milk for lunch!

As Susie and I were snuggling before she fell asleep last night, she looked up at me and sighed dramatically... "I miss my teacher!" she said. Grammy and Aunt Jo Jo have been replaced by her new teacher as The Person to Miss at Bedtime, I guess!

So I'm thankful. I thankful God showed us what to do about school, because what we had thought we were going to do wasn't going to work... but this is working. I am thankful for the extra encouragement of a fantastic first day, of great communication with teachers and staff already... of excellent administration and care for my children. I'm thankful that so many of the fears I had about school have already been put to rest. I'm thankful God has made me grow through all of this... helped me get over some of the elitism I didn't know I carried around, and some of the perfectionism and performance-driven crap I've always put on myself. Thankful my kids aren't feeling the same pressure.

Just... thankful.

Leah and Susie have a lot to learn... like addition, subtraction, and how to write and spell. I have a lot to learn, too. Like how to be open-minded and encouraging, surrendered and trusting... how to let go of what I think is right and trust that what God has is mind is far better.

How to let God be God of everything.