It's Like Preschool In Real Life

Dear Noah,

This is what you looked like on your first day of school.

I had a different outfit picked out for you, but our dryer mysteriously broke in the night. So you wore this. Your school required closed-toe shoes, but I forgot to make sure your sneakers still fit. So they were a little tight. I'm sorry.

I combed your hair. You thought we were going to visit Nana and Pop Pop, probably because that's the only time I ever comb your hair.

You liked your Thomas the Tank Engine backpack but would not wear it. You asked to stay home. I wanted to let you stay home. I wanted to ask when you got so big, so smart, so preschooler. Then you asked to get in the green car and go to school. So we did.

You were a little nervous, but you did not cry. You left Pinky Dinky Doo and Baby Brother's Piano in the car -- they're in there now, waiting for you. You asked Daddy to carry you in, and he did. We forgot to bring the camera. There was a pretty little girl named Paige in your classroom when we got there, and when we said goodbye you were both exploring a little toy kitchen, preparing to make breakfast. You did not cry, but Mama did, a little.

It's different now. And it will be different all over again, once Baby Brother is born. I'm glad you'll have school and friends and things to do. But for now, as silly as it may be -- three hours! it's just three hours! -- I miss you, little man. I'll miss our days and mornings of Just Us, Just Doing Whatever We Want. It's been you and me, all day, every day, and it's hard to give that up. It's been a delight and a privilege to spend this time with you, Noah, and I'm proud of the boy I sent off to school this morning.

Love,

Your Ridiculous Mother Who Will Pick You Up In 20 Damn Minutes

PS. This is what you looked like when you came home from your first day of school.

Comments

[Kim]

Aw, that was so sweet it made me cry.

[RebeccaB]

So grown up!!

[Alice]

I'm crying. That was so sweet.

[Suzanne]

Awww, looks like his first day of school wore. him. out.

[anna]

My youngest started preschool today also. Is it wrong to be jealous that my husband is the one who will hear all about her day at school first?

[Nina]

Precious. And impressed that you were able to drop him off. Caius CRIED and CRIED and we're still struggling after 4 weeks of preschool. Now on 3 week break. Hopefully it will be better?

Anyway, Noah is SO sweet.

[Megan]

Even I had a couple of tears over that, from all the way over here!

[sheilah]

Transitions. That is the hard part. My son started kindergarten last week and I still can't believe he is so big.

How do they grow so fast??

[Jim]

Mine gets his first day tomorrow. It's great to see Noah did so well.

P.S. We're allowed to comb their hair? I must look into that.

[wordnerd]

Just about lost it when I saw him holding his toys! What a little man he has become!

[nonsoccermom]

Oh, Amy. He is just so precious. That last picture in particular is so sweet.

They really do grow up so fast, don't they - my oldest started kindergarten today! SOB.

[Megan]

Aw, heck, you made me cry AGAIN. I remember reading your blog when you were in labor with Noah - where did the time go?!?

[Susannah aka Petunia Face]

Oh you made me cry with that last sweet baby breath picture of the big boy napping after his first day.

[Randi]

awww! I remember that day! Both times ;). It doesn't get any easier - Toad started 2nd grade and all of a sudden there's discipline and homework! Eep! He's in REAL school now!!

[Jen]

So Sweet!
("Sunrise, Sunset", that damn Fiddler song is going off in my head!)

[jodifur]

I hope Noah had such a great day!

[meghan]

What a brave Noah! And a brave momma!

[Vicki]

All I can say is AAAAAWWWWWWW. How sweet?!?!

[Middle-Aged-Woman]

Kindergarten is every bit exhausting for a little one as pre-school. I was always glad to take mornings, so they could nap in the afternoon.

[Susan]

Ohhh, he looks so big with his backpack. Mine has a Thomas backpack also. This year will be his 3rd year of preschool. I'm hoping we can start this one without his tears at least.:)

[Lisa]

Ack! My heart! She is cracked!

Good luck in school, sweetest boy.

[Sensibly Sassy]

Tried so hard not to tear up while reading this-I'm at work.

[Hilary]

OMG. I totally remember when I was first reading you, before he was even born. And now look. You've done a great job. Congrats!

[Colleen]

I'm so glad that it went well for him. It's SOOOOOO much harder when they're crying and won't let go and the teachers have to pry him off of you...that way is a lot harder on everyone (including the teachers). In fact, even though Gavin has been in daycare since he was 7wks old at the same place for the past 4 years, he had this sort of morning. So I'm really glad it went a lot better for someone else.

Noah totally looks like a big boy in the first pics, but still a bit like a sweet little baby in the last one. :)

[Sarah]

Aaaaaaaand you've made me cry at the office. Again.

You've got to stop doing that!

[Alicia]

ahhhh! He looked great for his first day! What a hard day for you! You did well :) And by the looks of things so did he.

[Jess]

So sweet! Mine started his pre-k at our public school today too! He didn't cry but he was nervous.

Looks like he wore himself out today with all his learning!

[Kate]

I *hated* when my parents made us take the obligatory first day of school pictures, but now I love going back and looking at them. So precious! Hard to believe he's a school ager now. What's next, being old enough to illegally download blue's clues? These kids grow up so fast!

[amberlulu]

My baby girl starts mother's morning out next week, and I'm already a little weepy over it (sensitive mama + pregnancy hormones = hot mess), so this got me going even more.

[MeL - Stay At Aum Mom]

Oh God. We have kindergarten orientation tomorrow, followed by the start of ALL DAY Kindergarten on Wednesday. There is a big yellow bus ride to contend with morning and afternoon, and things like "school lunches" and "full-size backpacks to hold regular size folders" and Holy Shit I Am Not Ready For All This.

[Anna]

You made me cry, too (damn pregnancy hormones). My little guy is 2 and goes to daycare everyday and everyday my heart still breaks just a little.

[Spring]

He looks like such a little man in that second picture! Such a looker. :)

[Kyla]

Awwww! This is so sweet.

KayTar's first day is tomorrow, and today she is sick. Of course.

[Spring]

P.S. I love that we all sound like a bunch of crazy doting aunts in these comments. Look what you do to us!

[alexis]

the tears, they are flowing. that last picture of him sleeping is so dear. i love that they still look like babies when they're sleeping.

[Jen]

Go Noah! Congrats on making it through his 1st day. I can't believe I'm sending #3 off to preschool. Where did the time go?

[Kia (good enough mama)]

This is great! I LOVE that he has a Pinky Dinky Doo doll. We LOVE the Pinkster. She's totally cool and fun.

How typical though, huh? We moms cry and worry about school and the kids take it in stride ("Let's get in the green car and go to schooo now."), come home, and act like nothing's new.

Buggers keep growing up in spite of us!

Glad he did so well,

Kia

[Wendy]

Shit, I'm all teary now and Tess is asking me why I'm crying!

Things will never be the same for you Amy. But you made it through the first day, and that's a huge step. Later in the year, you'll see something or Noah will tell you something and you'll want to scoop him up and take him away from school. And then you realize you can't because you have to let him grow up.

I can't wait to hear about how he's doing in school and if everything you were worried about is okay now.

http://notesfromthesleepdeprived.blogspot.com

[Jess]

So sweet! Mine started his pre-k at our public school today too! He didn't cry but he was nervous.

Looks like he wore himself out today with all his learning!

[Maura]

Wonderful post and cute pictures. He's an adorable little man!

[Melizzard]

Gotta love a little man who loves his Pinky Dinky Doo!

Great 1st day of school post.

[Missie]

Today I sent my baby boy off to seventh grade.

It doesn't get much easier as the years go on, sorry to say.

[yet another from the legions of Amys]

My daughter starts preschool in a few weeks and even though I know she is going to LOVE it and I am so happy and comfortable with the place, I am so emotional about it. I just realized I'm going to drop her off on my way to work and I'll probably show up there all puffy-eyed. I guess I should bring tissues that day. And definitely the camera!

[Jess]

So sweet! Mine started his pre-k at our public school today too! He didn't cry but he was nervous.

Looks like he wore himself out today with all his learning!

[HeatherPride]

OMG, my husband and I BOTH cried the first day we dropped our son off at preschool! In the parking lot! Like idiots!

Yeah, it's a rough day for mommies. Glad you lived through it!

[Elizabeth]

I am thinking of the day I will do this, in two or three years, with my own little Peanut, and it brings tears to my eyes. Thank you for reminding me that these mornings of Just Us are pretty damn special, and won't last forever.

[Sherry]

Aw crispy crap. That made me snort and sob so much. I'm sending BOTH my twins off to preschool next week, and I'm hoping to be half as together and poignant as you were.

[Starbuck]

I remember that all too well. My youngest didn't go to preschool at all though and it made Kindergarten even harder for me. I was a sobbing blubbering mess for about the first week. Seriously, people at the school thought some tragedy had occurred.

[SnarkyMommy]

He looks so like Jason in some of those pictures.

This will be us in two weeks, but we went for the meet-and-greet today and he was totally into it.

Enjoy these infant-free preschool days now because when you are trying to get three people out the door and to school by 9 a.m., you might lose your damn mind.

[andrea]

um, i feel old and sad! i remember when Noah was born. Now pre-school, wow. the picture of him sleeping- simply adorable.

[Maria]

So very sweet.

May I ask where you found sheets with paw prints?

[iMommy]

Maybe it's just the pregnancy hormones, but I cried a little at the picture of him sleeping.

Who the heck gives them permission to get so big!?

[dorrie]

*snif*

Lovely. I remember BAWLING when I walked home from dropping my first little one off at kindergarden. Not my finest hour but you feel what you feel.

[Katie Kat]

WAHHH!!! I DON'T WANT NOAH TO GROW UP!!!! That means B is growing up too, and I'm SO not ready to let her go. I know there's still 2 years until Kindergarten, but I'm already weepy just thinking about it!

Still... he simply is PRECIOUS. Such a big boy, and still a sweet little baby lamb in the last pic. LE SIGH!

[obabe]

we have that too this week and next. 5 year old with kindergarten and almost 3 year old with preschool. at kindergarten parents orientation last week the teachers closed with a reading of jack and the beanstalk metaphorically being jack going off to kindergarten.
tears? in almost every damn mother's eyes. ESPECIALLY when the line was read about how this, "wasnt the first thing jack would have to do by himself"
WAAAAAAAAAAH.

im guessing if we lost our shirt at school, it was a successful day?

[mtngray]

God, I hear ya man!

[tracey]

Dang, he's cute. Congrats on surviving his first day! We all understand the turmoil that happens within a mommy when they make that first big kid step away...

[Liana]

Aw, congratulations, Noah!

And beautiful writing, Amalah :)

[JZMom]

Ummm...bawling here!

[NH Mom of 3]

What a touching letter, with photos to boot. Glad to hear things went well. Hope you're doing OK. Have a great school year.

[Jane]

Awww, what a sweetie.

Noah's pretty cute too.

[Annie]

That is exactly what I do when I come home from school!

[stacy]

beautifully written, you made me cry.

[Lucy]

I have a four month old in daycare, and all the 'first day of school' blog entries I've read today and making me sniffly!

[Lucy]

... and bad at proofreading, apparently.

ARE making me sniffly. ARE.

[Aimee Greeblemonkey]

what a sweet post.

[anna]

I need an insulin shot after this post and all these pictures. So adorable, congrats on your big boy starting school! Gorgeous and peaceful napping picture, too.

[jessica]

you made me all teary-eyed, you MF'er (Amy, not Noah, of course - though the sleepy picture DID NOT HELP , NOAH!). thanks.

[Jill (CDJ)]

Pinky Dinky Doo! Where did you find that???

p.s. I hope he had a good first day. This was a wonderfully sweet post.

[Susan]

Ahh...My youngest goes to Kindergarten tomorrow morning. It never gets easier.

[Feather Nester]

Oh, what a sweet letter. He will cherish it one day. Hooray for the big boy and the big step for both of you! You know you're raising him well when he's ready for the next milestone. Such a cute little guy. Congrats.

[Becca]

I love that he took Pinky-Dinky Doo and the piano with him. Perfect.
Congratulations on surviving his first day. Did he have fun?

[cboyd]

Thanks for keeping me grounded as a preschool special ed teacher.

[Collette]

How sweet! My youngest is starting preschool next week. I am even more sad with him than I was with his sister becasue he is my last baby. I got a little teary reading your post and thinking about how next Wednesday will go for me.

[Collette]

Oooo...forgot to mention, found you throught BHJ spotlight. Liking what I see so far...especially the white spot on the manhood.

[Rachel]

I have to admit I got a little teary-eyed from that. I have a Noah too. He's growing up too fast. WAAAAAA

[Brandi]

That was us last week--exactly. My voice cracked when I told him goodbye. I was in a daze those 3 hrs he was gone, like I was missing a limb. I am due in April and know this is good for him...for us. But wow.

[andrea]

Going through this in two weeks and hopefully I am getting out all my tears now so I can hold it together on the big day.

Congratulations to both of you on surviving your first day!

[MMM]

So sweet!

[Lisa]

I'm already wondering what I'll be like when I send my daughter off for her first day of school (she's only 9 months old!!) I can bet I'll cry my eyes out. How do they grow up so fast.

[supertiff]

*sobs*
what is he thinking, with those long big-boy legs?
it's just not right, i tell you.

[Ashley]

Is this where I should be thankful that our town doesn't even offer preschool unless your child is behind? I was kind of mad at first, but now I'm thinking I'll just settle with plain ol' "thankful". Another excuse to keep the kid all to myself :)

[lee-lee]

Thanks for the tears. Your a great mom!

[christina]

"Children who watch a lot of television during their early years are at
risk for childhood obesity, poor social development, and aggressive
behavior. They often have trouble adjusting to preschool or
kindergarten." AAP

Sorry to do this, but I've always worried/wondered about Noah's TV consumption...hopefully there is less with #2.

[Stacy]

I vividly remember the first day my baby went to preschool with his big boy lunchbox in a tight grasp. My heart lurched when I saw this picture of Noah.

My baby is now 8 and he heads to 3rd grade next week.

I still can't believe how fast the time has passed. Thank you for this sweet posting which perfectly sums up how it feels to watch your baby boy grow up.

[FishyGirl]

Aw. So so cute. I remember when I sent my oldest off to school for the first time. She was all, see ya! and I was a blubbering mess for a couple of weeks.

Now? The big 2 start tomorrow and I have been counting down the hours. The 4 year old will be going part time and I'm good with that. The baby? He's still mine for another couple of years. I'm sure I'll be a blubbering mess again for that one.

[Danielle]

How sweet. Now I'm all teary. I send mine off to preschool for the first time in 2 weeks - I'm not sure I'll handle it much better.

[HMFT]

So, I was about to cry? And then, I read your signature? And laughed my head off.

And, um...I have cried every year after dropping Seth off for the first day of school. And when the bus would drive up from the last day of summer camp. But not this year! This year, I was strong. It only took me until fourth grade.

But have no fear! More tears to come. For middle school is two years away, and I will cry. A lot. Then, when Seth starts HIGH SCHOOL, Jackson will start kindergarten. Then, I will need a Xanax. Or five.

[Miss Britt]

As sweet as all this is, my absolute favorite part is that you forgot your camera.

I love that you're the mom who forgets your camera and puts on shoes that are just a little snug.

It's perfect.

[ksmaybe]

Awwwwww. Now I'm all teary.

[Peggy]

awwww so sweet. Hope you and Noah both had a good first day.

I cried every year on the first day of school until my boys were seniors in high school.

[willikat]

I cried. Also, I wanted to say that You Done Good. Remember taking him to those classes that were so difficult and hard and awful? You prepared him right for his first day of preschool. Look at how brave and good he was--well-equipped. Noah's parents must love him an awful lot.
PS Nice detail about the shoes. Thanks for revealing stuff like that. It makes us all not feel like we have to be perfect all the time--and I don't even have kids!

[Celine]

Long time lurker, first time commenter - I just got home from bringing my (one and only) baby girl to college - a 6 hour drive - it doesn't get any easier :(

[Kristen]

I just got my 17-month-old and my yet unborn child added to wait lists for preschool. (Insane, no?) I am already fretting about how they are growing up too fast. I cried when I read this. Noah is precious. Glad it went well for him.

[Emily]

OMG, so cute it hurts!

My kids are off two school next tues. I thought it's be easier with the second. It's not and I hate it. But I know from watching my oldest last year, she'll love it. (Sigh)

[Ash]

My sibling has the same sheets as Noah! For some reason, that totally made my day.

Lovely entry. Thank you for giving an elementary teacher a case of the "feel goods."

Yes, I use that expression with the students. They really like it. :)

[Julie @ Letter9]

Oh my god I want to gobble up your child. That last picture is so flipping ADORABLE. Does he drool? Oh, I hope he drools.

(P.S. I saw you on the Throwdown last night. I was like, "I know her!" And then I was like, "Well, I mean, I read her blog." Yeah. I'm that loser.)

[Tirzah]

What a sweet sweet little man! I love his pillow case btw. lol

Happy first day of school Noah!!!

[Anissa@Hope4Peyton]

Absolutely precious. That was a terribly sweet way to memorialize his first day.

[Dawn B]

Seriously crying over here.
I will cry so much when my kids start school. Oh man.