Kindergarten: Part II

Madeleine is now an official “kindergartener”. We began our adventure this morning after taking too many pictures - that’s what moms are supposed to do. We went to Bruegger’s for a special breakfast of cinnamon and sugar bagels with strawberry cream cheese. She had chocolate milk, I had lemonade, and only 30 minutes stood between that moment and her first school bell. She was so excited that she couldn’t eat half of her bagel – neither could I (that’s a first!). We showed up at school to find no parking spaces left in the lot. I parked along the street in a “No Parking” zone (with several other parents who simply couldn’t care less about the rules). Madeleine, of course, persisted in telling me that I should have to follow the rules if I was to expect the same from her. I came up with what seemed to be a justified reason to break the rules and she bought it. I walked her into her classroom and took her photo once again with Mrs. Cervantes – so that Uncle Matt could see his niece with his former 2nd grade teacher. Madeleine hung her backpack on the hook below her cubby-hole and attached the nametag to her freshly-pressed pink dress. She goes by “Madeleine” now, rather than “Maddie”. She kissed me good-bye and held her head high as she mightily took her place at a table at the center of the room. As I made my way back toward the car I was rushed with a wave of dozens of 5-year-olds eagerly heading toward their classrooms, parents in tow. I didn’t cry, but the day has yet to end…