My new new new school!

For weeks Gabriel and Michael have been talking about going to school and what it was going to be like. Each of them had their own vision of what school was. For Gabriel it was a day filled with countless playtime, snacks and learning. For Michael it was a day following his big brother in what ever activity he was participating in.

Today the boy's make-believe vision of school became a reality as they actually went to school.

Normally Gabriel is up and in full speed before 6:30 every morning but today he must have wanted to be extra rested for his first day because I had to wake them both up at 7:05. From the moment Gabriel woke up, he realized it was finally the day he's been dreaming about for a very long time. It took him less than 20 minutes to get dressed, comb his hair, eat 2 bowls of cereal, brush his teeth and put his shoes on. Before I could get Michael out of his pajamas after eating a banana, Gabriel was standing at the door telling me to "Hurry up Mom, I don't want to be late for school."

I anticipated leaving the house about 10 minutes late but because of the excitement the boys had for school, we actually ended up leaving the house 20 minutes early. As we drove to the school the boys were happily singing songs they learned from Bible School, I guess they were expecting the same experience. I, on the other hand, had a stomach full of nerves as I tried to prep them for what their new experience was going to be like. Gabriel your teacher's names are Ms. Valerie and Ms. Megan (and no not Aunt Megan, she is back in Iowa). Michael your teachers names are Ms. V and Ms. Kate okay? You'll have to use your inside voices when you are in your classroom and Michael if you have to go potty please go right to your teacher and say, "Please can I go potty?" Before I could get through my never-ending lists of reminders, we had arrived in the school parking lot and my voices was being out-shouted by the boys cheers of excitement. "Mom, look at that playground! Oh I can't wait to play"

Once inside I talked with the school director as they showed me how to sign in and what to do each day and then she said, "Who would like to see their room first?" I responded Gabriel, I had thought this through. If Michael had to go first he wouldn't want to stay in his classroom by himself if Gabriel wasn't there. It was better to make sure Michael saw Gabriel happy in his room, so Michael would be excited about his room. Gabriel bounced down the hall following right behind the school director and as she opened the door his eyes lit up. He nervously walked in but never hesitated in greeting the teacher. Ms. Valerie took his hand and immediately welcomed him to the rest of the class. She then took him over to see some toys. He left my hand without hesitation and didn't look back as he went across the room. He truly was ready and craving the desire to go to school.

Knowing Gabriel was set and happy to be in his classroom, we moved onto helping Michael find his new room. Michael still holding my hand was in between the school director and me as we walked down the hallway. As she was talking Michael looked up at her and then took her hand so that he was supported on both sides as we entered his classroom. It is kind of a surreal environment, that is going into a child care facility. Imagine opening a door to a bunch of three year old, some screaming that someone has just taken their toy, others laughing as they play with their friends, and a few little ones standing in the middle of the room bawling their eyes out that their mommy or daddy has just left them. It didn't seem to be too traumatic for Michael but inside I was a mess, thinking to myself, I can't leave him here, he's too little and needs me to do so many things for him, who's going to help him now. Michael's teacher, Ms. V came right up to us and greeted Michael with a smile and a gentle hug and then she turned to me and said, "Mom, it is going to be okay." Maybe I looked a little shocked. She explained how she runs her classroom and what their routine is for the day. After about 5 minutes of talking she took Michael by the hand and asked if he was ready to play. He released the death grip he had on my leg and proceeded hand in hand as she lead him to an activity table where the little ones were playing Lego's. I took that as my cue to step out of the room. Although I worried about not saying an official good-bye I got the drift that, no official good-bye was the best route to take.

I walked out the door and off to begin my day at work. I did my best to try and stay focused on the tasks the cover my desk, but my mind seemed to always drift back to those two little boys and wondering how they were doing. I kept telling myself that they were fine, they had to be, I told the staff at the school probably 10 times that if they needed anything or if the boys weren't doing well with the school day to call me at any time. I hadn't received a call so I guessed that must have meant they were doing okay. Finally at noon I gave in to the urge I had been fighting since 8:15 a.m. and I called to check in on them. The report for Gabriel was all glowing marks. The program director said, "Gabriel's report so far this morning is that he is an absolutely wonderful little boy and he is actively engaging in the lessons and activities Ms. Valerie had planned. Michael's report was still positive but not as glowing... for him they said he's been doing pretty good adjusting to the class and Ms. V has really enjoyed getting to know him. I'm not exactly sure how to speak/read day-care code so if anyone can translate what that means, I'm all ears.

As the minutes and hours seemed to drag by I finally got myself into a project when I realized it was finally time to leave. I race out of the office and could hardly get to the school fast enough. As I walked it I wanted to observe before making my appearance and since I dropped Gabriel off first, I decided he got to be the first one picked up. I peered through the window in the door to see that he was sitting at a project table working with his teacher on an art project. When I opened the door and waved, we made eye contact and I could see the relief in his eyes as he turned to the teacher and said, "That's my mom, can I leave now?" Yes she said and he walked right over to me.

His first question to me was "Mom, where's Michael?" I should have known, always his brother's keeper, this was the first day in probably their whole lives that they were separated for more than 2 hours. We quickly walked to Michael's classroom and opened the door to see all of Michael's classmates sitting quietly in their chairs while Michael seemed to be walking aimlessly around the classroom with a scared look on his face. As soon as he saw Gabriel and I he couldn't get to us fast enough. He was ready to leave and could have cared less that he was just about to miss his snack. And if you know Michael, food and eating are one of his favorite activities.

Seeing his pale and scared expression I could tell the day was a little bit overwhelming for him and inside my heart was breaking. Upon seeing both of us Michael said, "Mom, I go with you and I don't go to school okay?" Gabriel then told me that Michael cried when he saw him on the playground because he wasn't able to go with Gabriel into Gabriel's class.

As we walked out of the school I think all of us were exhausted with the emotional roller coaster ride the day had presented us. Gabriel seemed to be on a high from all that he did and couldn't wait to get home to show me how to dance the snake, cow and monkey dance he learned. Michael on other hand asked me at least 50 times why he couldn't go with Gabriel into his class and if he had to go back to school? I think the transition for school might be a little more difficult for him but I remind myself that this will also be a good experience. They will indeed learn a lot, make friends their age, and develop their own identity (especially important in Michael's case). Although it will be hard for all of us to transition into our new schedule, I guess this is a stage in life that would eventually come whether the boys are 3 and 4 or 5 and 6. It isn't just Gabriel and Michael that are feeling the change, I think mom is too.

Until next time,

Angie

The first picture of many more "First day of school photo" to come.

Another one of the best friends and brothers.

Michael's project he finally decided to show me later tonight. As the evening progresses, school didn't seem so bad. Here is the picture of his monkey project he made for us.