First Day of School

I'm seeing the posts already. It seems a fair number of my friends are the mothers of littles about to enter kindergarten, and if you can trust what you read on social media, they are not okay. Not a single one of them. I see a lot of crying emojis - and I imagine I will see many more of them. 

My favorite post was the one yesterday where the mom was timing her daughter as she ate her lunch to make sure she knew how to eat a whole meal in the time frame allotted in schools. (I've actually seen this recommended on Pinterest, so I thought it was impressive that she actually did it.) 

But it all made me think back to when I was about to head into kindergarten. I have very little memory of this time. I don't remember being nervous, worried, OR excited, actually. I guess I never asked my mom if she was excited for the break from me or worried to send me off.

It was different back then...a thousand years ago...because we didn't have full day kindergarten. Just half a day, and I was blessed to be placed in the afternoon slot, so I still got to sleep in every morning. (Yes, I was not a morning person even back then.) 

Some fun facts:

* I rode the bus that year, and our bus driver redesigned his route so I didn't have to be the first one on and the last one off every day. He felt that was too much for a five year old. 

* I hated riding the bus and only did it two years. When I became a second grader, my mom started working at school and I just rode with her.

* According to my mom, when I came home from my first day of kindergarten, I told her the teacher taught us everything but the kitchen sink. Trust me: I'm not nearly as brilliant as that statement would lead anyone to believe.

* Ironically, Ryan told me his comment to HIS mom on his first day was "I didn't learn anything today, but I'll see how tomorrow goes." 

Opposites attract, right?

(This picture is not from the first day of school, but it is a nod to kindergarten Bekah.)

Somehow, when first grade rolled around, I managed to learn to get up early and attend school for a full day. And though I never went through timed trials prior to school, I did have time to eat lunch each day. But then again, I rarely have been known to do anything BUT inhale my food.

Here are some things I always loved about the start of school.

* A new outfit! Mom always took me shopping for something new and special to wear on the first day.

* School supplies! I still adore them and squeal with joy when I see them appear in the stores. 

* New lunch box. I didn't carry my lunch all the time, but I did more often in my younger years. I always got a new (metal!) lunchbox with a matching thermos, and I loved them!

* After school trip to the Comet Cone. The Comet Cone was a little ice cream/hamburger place in our town, and we would stop there now and then for ice cream or a Coke after school. The first and last days were always guarantees for that.

* Trapper Keepers showed up on the scene in my third grade year, I think. I hear they're back. That's good. I did love mine.

How about you...did you have any favorite back-to-school traditions??

I'm going to continue enjoying the back-to-school posts from all my friends. Braeya should be in high school right about now, but she hasn't passed preschool yet, so it's not lookin' good. ;)