We’ve come a long way in a year.  Today was Benjamin’s first day of his second year of school.  (He started preschool at the beginning of September last year, but we missed the actual anniversary since we were in England at the time.)  The first nervous day was followed by the tear-filled first week, which was followed by months of uncertainty about whether or not this was the right school for him (or if he should even be in school at all).

Last night, at bedtime, the kids were completely exhausted, and I suspected that they’d sleep late this morning and B would just end up missing school today.  That’s what usually happens when we get back from vacation, but not today.  This morning, he was up, bright and early.  And, he was more eager than he has ever been before to get to school.  All throughout breakfast and the rest of our morning routine, he kept asking, “Can we leave NOW?!?”  He was actually impatient to get to school.  I couldn’t believe it.

He went, he played dragons, knights, kings and queens with his friends, he raced around the garden and he had a great day.  I am so thrilled at how far we’ve come since a year ago . . . and I’m so glad we stuck it out through all of the uncertainty.  This will be B’s last year of preschool.  It’s his last year of getting to go to school mostly to play, and to make friends, and to get used to the idea of being in school.  (This is also our last year of vacationing in September, our last year without back to school shopping, our last year of not having to get a child to school at a rigidly particular time.)  I’m really happy that it seems like he may really get to enjoy it.