Tags
3 year olds, children, family, growing up, humor, Jim Chaney, kids, parenting, Pre-school, school, The Wordslinger
Yesterday was Tuesday. Tuesday; as in the day you wake up energized by the reality that within minutes of wiping the sleep from your eyes, you could be face to face with your computer monitor enjoying the glorious prose of yours truly, The Wordslinger. Or, perhaps, Tuesday; as in the day the trash gets picked up.
However you choose to identify Tuesdays, the fact remains that your inbox was empty yesterday. Or at least devoid of any of my musings. I’m sure it was filled with plenty of Living Social deals and letters from Prince Amar of Nigeria, willing his 14.7 million rupees to you however.
My triumphant return from nearly a month of sleepless nights and diaper changes was slightly derailed yesterday by the unnerving notion that my little girl isn’t all that little anymore. That’s right, yesterday was Izzy’s first day of school. SCHOOL! You know, that place where kids learn to read, write, and rebel against their parents. My little munchkin was entering the real world and I am having just a slight problem adjusting to the thought.
We arrived at school a few minutes early and she was already clamoring to go inside. “Excited to go to school?” I thought to myself. It’s been a long time since I was excited about school so her cheery demeanor confused me. Nevertheless, we headed inside where she was greeted by her new teacher and the 15-20 other 3-year-olds that formed a cornucopia of emotions.
Some burst through the doors, presumably hopped up on Fun-Dip or something, eyes darting wildly from toys to crafts to everything in between. Others clung to their parents as if the doctor had accidentally forgotten to cut the cord those many years ago. And then there was Izzy, stuck somewhere in between the giant chasm of childhood personalities. She never grabbed our hands or shed a tear, she simply followed the teacher’s instructions and did as she was told, all with a smile on her face.
Watching her sit in a circle with her soon-to-be friends, listening to the teacher as she welcomed them to school was surreal. For three and a half years, I’ve been this little girl’s father, all the while waiting for someone to bust through the door and yell “gotcha”, like it was all pretend. I do everything I think a good Dad should, hoping that I’m making the right decisions along the way. Jen always tells me not to throw important things away, and I sure wish I had listened before tossing out Izzy’s owner’s manual, so I’ve done my best to act like I know what I’m doing.
But now, as she enters her first real social situation without her parents by her side, I’m left in awe of how prepared she seems to take it on. She looked closer to 30 than 3 as I watched her play with children she had never met before and follow instructions from her teacher, as if it were nothing new.
Yesterday’s class lasted only an hour and half, and she won’t experience her first day sans parents until next week, but it was a milestone nonetheless. It’s sobering to think that I’m merely a blink or two away from her teaching me calculus and asking to borrow the car, but judging by the speed at which these 3 years have gone by, I’m not far off in my logic.
Last night, after Izzy and Jake had gone to bed and Jen laid down to get some rest before Matthew’s next feeding, I bounced around the house trying to settle down our newest addition during what has become his cranky time. Looking at him as he finally fell asleep in my arms, took me back to similar night with Izzy just a few short years ago. We’re taught in school about the concept of time and the seconds, minutes, hours, days, and so on. But no one tells you that time moves differently when you become a parent. There is no way these last 3 years moved at the same pace as the 3 before. Perhaps I need to go back to school for a refresher.
Beautiful. Two weeks ago I took my no-longer-little princess on her first driving lesson… the time went so fast… Enjoy!
Awe, she does look great!
Time is a crazy thing. I can’t believe my son is in first grade – it seems like yesterday I had just found out we were having another baby and I was dropping him off at pre-school.
Beautiful post, Jim. Definitely one you are going to want to read later in life.
Tuesday is trash day here too… 🙂 And time definitely speeds once babies are in the family. Mine are 20 and 18 and oh my dog they were just starting their first day of school yesterday, I swear. I remember everything about it, for both of them. Hang on tight, it gets bumpy from here…
She is adorable!
“Time is an absolute”. Bull cookies. Take it from an amateur physicist, “relativity” ain’t just about about little tiny bits of matter! 😉
I received a great bit of wisdom, on my wedding day 20 years ago. “Step outside everything in your mind, and look at what’s going on, even for a second or two. You’ll appreciate things more.” While I don’t have kids, this advice has DEFINITELY worked for other milestones in my life.
Try it, you’ll like it! 😀
She looks great and will be wonderful in school I am sure. And your wife looks amazing having just given birth so recently.
You are so blessed with your family – thank you for sharing this huge milestone.
My daughter starts school next week! I think I’ve been avoiding thinking about it, but I’m going to have to face it next week I guess :(. The passage of time is terrifying.
Hey…my trash is picked up on Tuesdays, too! How ’bout that!
(And yes, I got more from your post than just that — promise…)
My son just started his 8th grade year. As in, the year before high school. As in, “how the HELL did this happen so fast”? I still remember crying to my then-husband on his first day of public school, fearing aloud that some masked kidnapper would enter the playground and snatch him up. Crazy thing? It never happened. (And don’t you DARE tell me that the “crazy thing” here was my unfounded fear…)
Best of luck to you and yours as you begin this exciting new chapter!
Love your writing this morning! I know exactly what you mean about expecting someone to come bouncing in and reclaiming your daughter… I felt that way (and still do) about my son as he started his senior year in high school! That feeling never goes away.
Enjoy every minute, they go so fast…
Thank you for the compliment, and for confirming that I’m not the only one who feels like he’s playing house.