First Day of School

We were up bright and early for Micah's first day of preschool We had done our homework in preparation for little guy's first separation from family. He has been attending Sunday School in the same classroom as where he will attend preschool. We went to Orientation and Meet the Teacher days last week to get comfortable with the concept of school. Today he was very excited to get ready for school and chose his Thomas Train shirt - "Full Steam Ahead" it says. That describes Micah to a T.

He wanted to take the golf cart to school. On the way to school we talked about how Mama would drop him off and pick him up after he had music (his teachers had shared his schedule so we knew what to tell him.) He was quite concerned that Mama wasn't going to go to school too. When I walked him to the door, he ran right into the building until he realized I wasn't coming too. Then he turned around and tried to run back to me. The teachers were leading (read nearly dragging) him back into the building. Mama rushed off before Micah could see the tears in her eyes.
I went around to the other entrance and found my ways to the Tissues and Tears room. That's where parents who are having a hard time letting go can hang out, sniffle a little and wait for their children. I wanted to be nearby in case he had a meltdown. His teacher stopped by about 15 minutes later and told me that once settled in, Micah was doing wonderfully. I peeked in his classroom window and saw him playing on the floor.

He joined right into his class. On another peek, I saw him sitting at the table eating his snack. I caught sight of him once as the class trekked down the hall to music and movement. I stayed out of his sight, but was able to see him enjoying the music and rhythm instruments.

At the end of the day, I walked back around to the main door to pick him up. Business as usual. He was excited to tell Mama about his day. He showed me his stamps and stickers and talked about music.

On the way home, he kept patting my leg and saying, "Mama." When I said, "what?" he replied, "Micah's Mama." I think he was happy to see that at the end of the day he went home with the same Mama who dropped him off. I wonder if he flashed back to that day not-so-long-ago in China when his foster mother dropped him off at the orphanage and he went home with his new Mama and Baba.

Here is my guy after his first day of preschool. I think he's going to be just fine.