{"id":549,"date":"2016-08-22T17:41:05","date_gmt":"2016-08-22T22:41:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/?p=549"},"modified":"2019-06-07T15:48:52","modified_gmt":"2019-06-07T15:48:52","slug":"off-to-school-ready-or-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/off-to-school-ready-or-not\/","title":{"rendered":"Off to School: Ready, or Not?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

In photos passed around at the office or posted proudly on Facebook, in conversations remote or at the coffee machine, whether about emerging kindergartners or newly liberated college freshers, the off-to-school transition has a universal thread.\u00a0 For evidence, examine those photos more closely.<\/p>\n

The kids are jubilant. They\u2019re ready to rock and roll.\u00a0 Just look at those grinning small people, feet practically dancing out of their clean new shoes, the backpack\u2019s weight sported proudly like a badge of achievement.\u00a0 My very favorite first-day shot shows a new kindergartner, the nephew of my very dear friend, rushing toward his waiting teacher with a flower he picked, just for her.\u00a0 Even better, it\u2019s a giant, mature sunflower that he yanked from the ground at the roots, and he\u2019s waving the entire plant, nearly twice his own height.\u00a0 The expression on the teacher\u2019s face proves that even those who have seen it all–teachers of small children, police officers, dance teachers, tech support, and auto mechanics among them–can still be surprised on the Big First Day.<\/p>\n

But check those shots again, and behold the parents.\u00a0 They muster a smile, but look closer, at their eyes.\u00a0 However diligently they\u2019ve nurtured, how carefully they\u2019ve shopped from lists, how much encouragement they\u2019ve bestowed and precautions they\u2019ve dispensed, they aren\u2019t fooling anyone.\u00a0 Emotionally, they aren\u2019t ready.\u00a0 Not really.<\/p>\n

And how could they be? In my parental career, three decades and change, there hasn\u2019t been a single landmark event more terrifying than my daughter\u2019s first day of school.\u00a0 Not even her wedding, nor the birth of her children. For the naturally anxious, like yours truly, there are so, so many questions.\u00a0 Which side of the street will the bus stop on?\u00a0 And what evils might lurk on that massive bus?\u00a0 Will her lunch spoil before she eats it\u2014or did I even remember to send lunch?\u00a0 Will there be mean kids? Will the teacher be patient with her constant questions? Does she have her shoes on the right feet?\u00a0 Is she even wearing shoes?\u00a0 Am I?<\/p>\n

For her, it seemed so natural.\u00a0 The door of the big yellow bus creaks open, and she bounds up the steps without a backward glance or word. The driver waves as she closes the door on my baby\u2019s toddler years, the sweet, oh-so-short times when our world together is everything. The bus rumbles away toward the rest of her life, leaving me bereft, alone on the sidewalk.\u00a0 At the office, I watch the clock all day, distracted.\u00a0 My sister calls and leaves me a message that begins, \u201cDid you put your baby on the big yellow bus today?\u201d I burst into tears.<\/p>\n

All this comes flooding back as Buddy\u2019s first day of kindergarten approaches.\u00a0 I\u2019m dying for scoop, but struggling not to pry. In this and many other things required of mothers, my daughter far surpasses me in thoughtful preparation, so there is no help to offer in advance.\u00a0 I listen for clues and wait for the big day.<\/p>\n

Finally, it arrives, and with it the requisite photos of suddenly-taller Buddy, backpack strapped firmly in place, new shoes laced onto feet big enough for some other, older kid.\u00a0 Actually, on closer inspection, the shoes appear intentionally un-laced.\u00a0 (I guess that\u2019s a thing.)\u00a0 And look at that face; he\u2019s so ready he didn\u2019t really want to stop for this picture.<\/p>\n

\"\" \"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

When I catch him for the big news bulletin, it is oddly reassuring to learn that some enduring elements of this passage retain their importance as the generations roll on.\u00a0 Among them:\u00a0 Why do grownups think this is such a big deal?<\/p>\n

So, how did it go?\u00a0 I begin.\u00a0 \u201cUmmm\u2026.it was good,\u201d he nods, nonchalant, offering nothing further. I press on: What did you do on the first day?\u00a0 \u201cWell, we went to the cafeteria.\u201d\u00a0 Another pause.\u00a0 Did you eat there?\u00a0 Buddy\u2019s expression indicates this merits a DUH, but he kindly does not deliver one.\u00a0 \u201cWe had apples and milk, and Maggie from my other school was there, so I sat in the chair next to her.\u201d\u00a0 Did you read any stories?\u00a0 \u201cWe talked about the kissing hand.\u201d\u00a0 This, I learn, is a charming tale about a raccoon whose mom reassures with a kiss on the hand that he takes her love wherever he goes.\u00a0 Buddy scampers away, returning with a school folder.\u00a0 It contains a paper hand for family members to kiss and return to school.\u00a0 I give it a peck, glad to join in this little symbolic assignment.<\/p>\n

With that, he has said all he has to say on the topic.\u00a0 But I have more questions!\u00a0 Did he meet mean kids who made fun of people (my personal torment from grade school, re-surfacing, natch)?\u00a0 Did he look around and wish he was taller\/shorter\/wearing different shoes\/not so blonde\/had a better sandwich\/home with his little sister?\u00a0 But I follow his lead and zip my lips for now. Such things loom so monumentally in our hearts, but if they crossed his five-year-old mind, he didn\u2019t let on.<\/p>\n

A few days later, the fall season opened for the pre-school program where Sis goes two days a week.\u00a0 Sis desires nothing more in this life than to keep pace with her brother, so her parents marked her first day, as well, with a photo opp and special, Sis-style first-day outfit.\u00a0 This met with resistance (see photo).\u00a0 The source of this pout remains known only to Sis, but her generally exuberant nature apparently re-emerged later.\u00a0 When her mother sought a first-day report from the director, she got this: \u201cThat girl lives every moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Knowing Sis, the imagination boggles at the implications.\u00a0 But whatever happened, I hope she keeps it up.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0Copyright Eve Hutcherson, 2016.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In photos passed around at the office or posted proudly on Facebook, in conversations remote or at the coffee machine, whether about emerging kindergartners or newly liberated college freshers, the off-to-school transition has a universal thread.\u00a0 For evidence, examine those photos more closely. The kids are jubilant. They\u2019re ready to rock and roll.\u00a0 Just look […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1881,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-grandkids","category-humor","tag-school"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=549"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/549\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmachronicles.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}