Charlie's First Day Of School (written Oct 29th)

I remember when it was just me and her (and my big ol' nose).

Toward the very end of my pregnancy I was huge and miserable and I wanted her out. For a number of reasons. I wanted her to meet her father. I wanted to be able to see my feet. I wanted my bladder back. But a big part of me was afraid. Not of labor. I mean she was a big baby, 8lbs7oz, but that part didn't worry me. What worried me was that I just wasn't sure if I was ready to share her with the rest of the world. For nine whole months she had been all mine and I kind of wanted it to stay that way.
I hadn't yet laid eyes on her but I knew she was perfect. She had all her fingers and toes, everything was in the right place, her heart was strong and according to my gut so were her legs. She responded to my voice, she made me smile and she laughed at all my jokes (at least I imagined she did). Then she was here. This little angel. Marcus and I were more in love with her than we had ever been with anything... ever... and I really didn't want to share her with anyone.

It feels like it was just yesterday.

But in reality, this was yesterday.

Here is my Charlie, my three year old, ready for school. She wanted to wear a dress on her first day... and her pink crocs... and her hair down.
I got up early that morning to make sure she had everything she would need. I packed her Dora lunch bag with the essentials which included a capri sun, chocolate pudding and inside shoes (the kids here wear separate shoes for outside play so they don't get their classroom floor dirty). And when she she woke up she eagerly got ready for her big day. Just before we left she asked me for a tictac so, in her words, her breath would be fresh and we were out the door.
I wasn't sad like some mother's are on their child's first day. I was actually really excited for her. She had been asking us since we got to the island when she would start school and the day was finally here. The drive was surprisingly short and we were there before we knew it . We checked in at the office and as we walked to her class I remembered my husband's warning the night before... Don't embarrass her!!... which reminded me to get out my camera and take a few pictures.


She couldn't get in the door fast enough. But before going inside she turned to me and hugged my waist. Can I have a kiss? She nonchalantly laid one on my hand which was resting on my hip. On the lips?? She looked up at me with these little eyes that seemed to be telling me that she wasn't about to risk her first impression by kissing her mom in full view of the other kids. So I said goodbye and let her go.

When I picked her up a few hours later she told me about all her new friends and how they liked her dress, and her hair. She was practically bursting with excitement. She was excited about getting to know them. She was excited about learning. She was excited about feeding the class turtle. And as I listed to her tell me about her day I realized that sharing my baby wasn't such a scary thing... well, at least not with a bunch of 3-6yr olds.