Kindergarten

Ella bounded out of bed, so anxious to get up and start kindergarten. She got ready cheerfully, but as we got closer to her bus arrival time, a look of concern and worry came over her.

I knealt down to say, "Ella...you aren't allowed to take toys with you, but if you want to go into your room and find something really small, we'll hide it in your backpack and only you will know it's there. That way you'll have something from home." Her face lit up.

She sprinted down the hall to her room, and came out holding this in her white-knuckled grasp:



She said, "the mommy from my dollhouse...she kinda looks like you."

I (loudly) whispered a few tips into the Mommy's ear, so if Ella got scared, she could peek into her backpack and hear some reassuring phrases. Ella pretended not to listen, but craned her neck to hear my advice: "please tell her that every kid there will feel a little bit scared.Tell her to make the teacher's job easy, to listen and learn a lot, and remember that if she wants to make new friends, the only thing she needs is her beautiful smile."

We tucked "Mommy" down deep into a secret pocket, and walked hand-in-hand out to the end of the driveway to wait for the schoolbus.







Yes, my sweet girl, it's a new day—and you are ready for it!