big day

Today was the first day of school. I was happy for Ella to be starting second grade, but I'll admit it was a little bittersweet for Lauren to start kindergarten. I had all of the same feelings I'd had with Ella two years earlier. But, like Ella, she was ready. The girls ran ahead of us all the way to school.

Kim and I walked Ella to her locker first. We put her things away and I gave her a big hug. She asked me to kiss her hand, like in the book, The Kissing Hand. Kim gave her a fist bump and yelled after her as she walked to her classroom, "Rock the Casbah!" She smiled.

Next, we took Lauren to her locker. We put away her things, gave her hugs, I kissed her hand, and walked her to her classroom. She strode right in, sat down where she was told, and went to work coloring. She didn't look up when we tried to wave goodbye, which helped, actually.

I thought about the girls all day.

When I picked them up from school Lauren came out first. "How was your first day?" I asked.

"GREAT!" she replied, "I did NOT go to the principal's office. I stayed on green all day."

Way to go.