I watched Madi walk out of the school building this afternoon, carrying her backpack, and with her hair all awry from playing outside. She came trotting up to us, handed me her stuff, and squatted down to give Fiona a hug. I asked her how school was, and she said, “Good…can we watch a show when we get home?”
It was so…normal.
This is a good thing, right?
I guess it is not too surprising; kids are pretty adaptable. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I do know that in this big, emotional adventure, I failed to think about the “after”.
It happens with most “big events”. I probably spent more time poring over our wedding guest list than figuring out how Ben and I would share the bathroom every morning. And I really don’t think I spent much time at all thinking about the most effective way to catch baby vomit in my hand instead of letting it drip onto the couch. I was more concerned about the outfit we were going to bring the baby home in and whether or not I was going to get to the hospital in time to get an epidural. And with Madi’s first day of school, I thought about her outfit, supplies, and emotional well being, but the fact that we would have to do the same thing all over again the next day…and the next day…and the next day…completely escaped me.
But it is in the “after” that is where we spend most of our time. I wake up next to my husband every morning, the kids don’t just stop needing care, and Madi will spend the next twelve years waking up early to head to school.
We will figure out this new “normal” (some of us quicker than others). Madi will wake up tomorrow morning, stoked to head to her fourth day of school. On the other hand, Parker and I will take a little while to adjust to our “Madi-less” days.
Welcome to the “after”…
Isn’t it weird how we zero in so easily on one day and then the next one surprises us? I remember feeling like that was going to happen while I planned my wedding. I didn’t want to feel like it was a letdown, the end, the final curtain call; I wanted it to feel like the kick-off! I can’t imagine being prepared for Adele’s first day of school, tho’. Hope you and Parker and Fiona weather it as well as Madi.
I like that…feeling like a “kick-off”! Nice imagery!