The first day of school always brings so much excitement, anxiety, new friends and best of all new beginnings.
My kiddos started school today. Andon started the second grade and Noelle started kindergarten.
When Andon started kindergarten, I cried before I even woke him up on the first day. Held my tears while I dressed him, fed him and made sure he brushed his teeth. Held it together until the bus pulled away….then cried my eyes out. I quickly realized that my babies were growing up and didn’t need me as much. I followed the school bus to school, stalked….uh….I mean watched as he walked into school. Then, I called to make sure he made it into his classroom. I worried about what kind of day he was having and prepared his favorite snack for when he finally came home.
This morning with Noelle was different. I was so proud of her. I didn’t cry at all getting her ready, feeding her breakfast, brushing teeth together and doing her hair. She was so excited and I was so excited for her. We put Andon on the bus and then I took her to school (she can’t ride a bus, they wanted to transport her in an SUV….so I just decided to take her myself.) As I was driving to school a song by Switchfoot called “This is Home” came on. This is the song that Emily (one of Noelle’s NICU nurses) gave us on a CD when we left the NICU. Enter tears….BIG ONES! I know how blessed I am. But on that ride to school….I thought about all those NICU parents who didn’t get to take home their kiddos…let alone take them to the first day of kindergarten. I remembered the moments that I was unsure if Noelle would leave the NICU or start kindergarten. Those memories just came flooding back and once again realized how incredibly blessed we are!
I get a lot of reminders about how blessed we are…but today was a big one! That little miracle girl has come a long way from her 1 lb 11oz preemie! My biggest fear today was that the kids would look at her differently and not want to be her friend. Seems like the opposite happened!
Noelle has AMAZING teachers and therapists! Her teacher said that some of the kids were even correcting other kids about stepping on her tubing!! (Enter tears now!) One of the little girls even gave her a “Nice to meet you” card! I teared up this evening again as she was making a card for that kid! She did it on her own without even telling me what she was doing. It says, “I love you, Kaylee!”
These kids of mine have HUGE hearts!! Sometimes, I hate the fact that summer is over and I have to share them with school (but other times, I’m so thankful that summer is over!) Watching them blossom over a school year and make friends is priceless! I am really looking forward to a great year…. This year is going to be one of the best, I feel it!!
Cheers for new beginnings!
Xoxo,
Stacie 🙂
What Doesn't Kill You, Makes You Stronger... 