3rd time's the charm

She did it! We successfully started school today and it went as planned...tears and all!

Luckily she was a bit distracted by the bus coming a little earlier. Thinking we had about 10 minutes, she walked Jake in the stroller up to the top of the court. As she was coming back down the bus arrived, making her rush to the corner. This distraction helped keep her emotions in tact and for that I am thankful.

As she was boarding the bus; however, she looked back and the tears started flowing. She progressed to the 1st empty seat and looked out the window as if she would never see us again. I have thought of this image all day, sad that she was sad but proud that she did it! I really could not be more proud of our little girl.

In speaking with her tonight over the phone she sounded happy yet exhausted. I can only imagine the toll all the newness had on her today. New ride to school, new teacher, new friends, new routine, new everything. All this newness resulted in my good night phone call from bed at 7:35 p.m. That's my girl!

I am so excited about this new chapter. We have been preparing for today (and Monday and Tuesday) for months and she did it...all by herself! It will be fun to reflect upon today's events for many years to come. There will be so many 1st's in the future and this is a great step in the process of growing up.

For those of you curious, yes, I cried, like a baby! I did not cry in front of her but as I walked back inside and poured another cup of coffee, I lost it. They were tears of joy, pride, and relief. I am most proud of her for going through with it and I am proud of us for not allowing her to back out. We made the commitment early in our parenting that we would always push our kids to be independent and follow through on commitments and we did just that today.

I will post pictures of our morning later this weekend!