First Day

Today was Little Guy's first day of kindergarten:

I have to admit, I was having a hard time.

Not only because he's my youngest child, but because of the unpredictable nature of his diagnosis.  My husband and I sometimes jokingly refer to our son as our little "Jekyll and Hyde"; sometimes he can be oh so cute, and other times...watch out.  Oh, how I hoped the Jekyll side showed up at school today!

I could tell Little Guy was struggling with some anxiety issues, so I made it a fun, relaxing morning for him.  We played his favorite game, we watched his favorite show. And when he declared he hated first days and wanted to skip them, I gently reminded him that he had to have a first day of school sometime, and it might as well be today because all of the other kindergarten kids would be a little nervous as it was also their first day.  That logic seemed to help him settle down.

After snapping a "first day" pic outside, I took him to lunch.  We decided to skip the bus for today to help cut down on his stress level, so I drove to the school and walked him inside.  There were several other parents also seeing their little ones off; some even looked as anxious as I felt (probably 1st timers).  After a morning of putting on a happy, relaxed face for Little Guy, I walked back into the parking lot with a knot of worry in my stomach and my cell phone ready to answer the call I hoped wouldn't come.

As time passed and no call came, I was able to relax a bit.  Suddenly, I realized it was nearing time to pick him up and STILL NO CALL!

Little Guy greeted me with a smile, eager to share his experience.  Although there had been an incident in computer class where he needed to be moved next to the teacher, there were no tears or major meltdowns.  He even came home with a green ticket!

Yeah - Dr. Jekyll showed up after all :)

I'm sure my confidence with the staff and teachers at Little Guy's school will grow as I get to know them better and they gain time and experience working with my son, helping me to feel less anxious about what might happen while he's there.  Other days might not go as well as today, but all I can say is hooray for a GREAT first day!