Drop off at school time

I am shocked to say that I enjoy dropping off Maggie at school. Not because I am so ready for her to go to school. I like having her at home, so I miss her while she's at school, but she loves school so much that it makes drop off time really easy. I didn't expect her to like school so much. She is a clingy girl who is a homebody, so I expected a fight every morning. This is the girl who cried every morning that I dropped her off at preschool. Every morning for an entire year when she was 3. That made me feel awesome.

But, I love her school. She has a wonderful principal who sets the tone for the school. She has a wonderful teacher who genuinely likes 5 year olds. She sets them up to succeed and she never raises her voice at them. It's an amazing thing to watch her lead them.

Drop off time comes after the mad rush of finding matching socks that don't itch or bump. Drop off time comes after putting on her shoes in a way that don't bunch up the socks that we just put on. It comes after we find jackets and snacks for snack time and her weekly homework and getting Patrick ready to go. p.s. Patrick is infinitely easier to get ready in the morning than his big sister.

Then, it's the mad dash to the door. Maggie has elaborate good bye rituals for each of this that take several minutes. It involves lots of hugs and kisses.

As we get to school, I try to remember to pray with her and tell her to remember that she is God's child and to pray for her friends in her class.

We get to school and say hi to the sweet crossing guard. This crossing guard is protective of the kids crossing the street and reminds each of them to have a great day.

After we get to the gate to let her in the playground, we kiss one more time and have a tight hug goodbye. She skips off to class and to see her friends. I watch her get in the 2nd gate to the Kindergarten playground and sometimes stand there til her teacher comes to get the whole class. I watch other parents say goodbye. I'm surprised by how many dads are there and how sweet they are to their kids as they leave them at school.

I was watching one dad hug and kiss his little girl goodbye. He was wearing a mechanics' uniform and was tatooed and pierced. He was so sweet to her. And I just teared up watching them say goodbye. It was just such a sweet outpouring of love between this tough guy and his little girl.

I think that we are extremely blessed by Maggie's school. I prayed and prayed for her teacher and for Maggie's first experience at school. It's been a great experience. It's been great to be connected to our community. I have learned so much about our town and the area just by her school. I'm happy to drop her off every day at school even though I really miss her while she is gone.