Nicki's 2nd Day of Kindergarten!!!

At 6:35 A.M., I entered Nicki's room and she jumped in her bed with a start! 'Mom, can't I sleep 'til 7?!', she moaned. I told her 'No, you don't like to be rushed, so this is what you have to do.... get up early!'. I thought, 'wow... 5 years old and I'm already getting the 'mom, can't I sleep longer?!' routine... I didn't expect this until she was in high school. Boy was I wrong!' She grumbled something about light in her eyes and came groggily into the kitchen where I tried to feed her breakfast, but was only able to get some milk and a cereal bar down her (30 minutes later!). She started to wake up a little, but the idea of missing the school bus kicked her booty in gear a bit, so she FINALLY started to get moving at more than a turtle's pace! But nonetheless, we did manage to make it out the door and off to the bus stop we went...

The morning was clear, 65 degrees, hot air balloons flying around, bunnies hopping alongside the sidewalk as we walked to the bus stop at 7:35 A.M. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL outside! We got to the bus stop where a number of other children (and to my pleasant surprise, many parents) awaited the arrival of the bus. Finally, we all heard the familiar sound of the engine as the bus entered the neighborhood and took its place at the stop. The driver announced that all kindergarteners were to board first, so off we went, hand-in-hand up to the yellow bus. I felt something on my hand and when I looked, Nicki was kissing it Quietly, she said, 'I'm going to miss you today.' I knew then, that I only had a moment's window to bend down and kiss her on the cheek and say, 'I love you.'

As I walked home from the bus stop, I knew that this special moment wouldn't last forever. In fact, I'm sure the times that I'd be able to kiss her goodbye with everyone else around will be long gone WAY before I'm ready... but for today, I'm on cloud 9 and will treasure the brief, but special moment in my heart.