First day of school

Yesterday was Elijah's first day of preschool. Here is a guest post from Amiel.... Sarah took the lead in doing a very nice job preparing Liji for his first day of school. We both took him to a couple visits to the school and Sarah talked about it a lot in the last couple weeks so he would be familiar with the concept. She even got him a couple very cute books about “first day at school” and a brand new “Blue Doggie” to take with him. I think he was as well prepared as possible.
One of the last steps yesterday was laminating some family photos so he could take them with him and be reminded throughout the day of his cast of fans supporting him. Sarah expertly punched holes in the laminated photos and tied them together with a pretty piece of yarn.

Today we had his clothes all picked out from the night before, bag packed, and off to school we went. He was calm but with a VERY serious face when I took a couple photos. After we entered the school – a little tentative and not ready for smiles yet. We met one of his very nice teachers, Dee, who already had one little girl in her arms, just getting over her own “first day trauma”, eyes still wet with tears.

We said hello, handed off our bag and some frozen veggie food, and as is the procedure at his school, were shown where Elijah can wash his hands first thing every morning when he arrives. (They are very conscientious about preventing spread of any germs!) Elijah liked having a little sink at his height with a grownup soap dispenser and paper towels. Then it was time for Daddy to say good bye, love you, see ya later, and leave quickly. You can imagine how much he liked that… Not so much. Immediate crying. But I had to run to the car to get out a box of diapers and when I returned two minutes later, Elijah was in Dee’s arms, already calmed down. (You could tell right away she has a great touch with small children.) I didn’t let him see me, so as not to get upset again, and quickly slipped out.

Amiel picked up Elijah and it sounds like the day went quite well. His only difficulty was falling asleep at nap time. By the time he fell asleep, it was almost time to get up. Apparently he was unhappy to be awakened... he must have been really exhausted because he dozed back off. Amiel reported that Elijah was fast asleep on a little couch at pick up time. Tomorrow is Elijah's second day and I am hoping to pick him up myself. Tomorrow is also my first day working in the hospital!! A big day for our little family.