Kindergarten: Day 1 Down; Day 2 Reality

Yesterday was Hadley's first day of Kindergarten and it went great. Mike and I walked her down to school, spent some time in her classroom and said our good byes. She was so happy and excited to be there. I also had the opportunity to pick her up which was AWESOME! I swear, those smiles at the end of the day are better than any other. 

Today was Day 2. Mike and I carpooled to work so we both got to drop her off. This was the strangest thing. Day 1 had so much excitement, preparation and special time. Today was very strange. Our sweet little girl hopped out of the car, put on her backpack and approached the gate. Mike got out to give her a hug which was adorable. I stayed in the car and observed. Wow. This is happening. This is real. She is a big girl. Now. Not tomorrow. Now. 

Mike got back in the car and we both watched Hadley. She looked back at me and asked if I would pick her up again. I reminded her Yara would be there this afternoon with baby Hannah and Harrison. She slowly replied "Okay." Then she went on to ask "What about tomorrow? Can you drop me off and pick me up?" Hmmm. I looked at her for a moment, took it in and replied, "We'll talk about it tonight. Have a great day at school." It took all I had in me to hold back the tears. I wish I could. I wish I could pick her up from school every day. I love that end of day smile. 

As we pulled away from the curb, Hadley walked down the stairs and Mike asked me "Should we circle the block?" and I grinned. He was having his Daddy moment too. He was reflecting on this Day 2 milestone in his own way. He wanted to make sure she did okay. So we did just that, we circled the block and when we got back to the gate, our sweet baby girl had hung her backpack on the hook and was approaching a group of little girls. 

There it is. She is off. She is a Kindergartner.