What a Difference a Year Makes

What a difference a year makes…

Reflecting on this past year. Our first year in the public school system. Our first year with routines, homework, school lunches, uniforms, field trips, kids club, programs and celebrations. Looking back on week one versus our final week, there is so much love and so much growth.

There were so many tears. So many clings. So much emotion. My sweet Doodle struggled everyday for nearly the first month of school, just because saying goodbye for the whole day was hard. She started falling in love with her teacher Mrs. Geary, but there was still fear and anxiety at simply saying goodbye. This mamas heart broke into pieces. Watching my child struggle is the hardest thing I will ever do. I followed my heart, I put her into before school kids club. The result was phenomenal.

And then just like that school became routine. Waking up and getting ready and joining her classmates daily was just what she did. From fear and anxiety we moved to confidence and control in saying goodbye. However, there were more hurdles to be had. School work didn’t come easy to the Doodle. Reading was hard, writing was a challenge, staying on track in class was nearly impossible. Again, I worked with her teacher, followed my heart and within our family we focused on reading tutoring with a dear friend. And agin, the results were phenomenal. There was joy in learning.

Doodle was sinking into kindergarten just fine. There was confidence in the goodbye. There was joy in learning. There was pride in accomplishements. There were friends and excitement. And Doodle started experiencing so many firsts.

Here we are, Doodle’s final day of Kindergarten. In a few short hours my girl will be considered a 1st grader. This is getting real, oh so real. Yesterday there was a beautiful graduation ceremony in which our kids sang songs and celebrated the transition from kinder to 1st. Another school year and a new beginning.

The final morning goodbye felt a lot like the first goodbye. Emotions and fear. Struggles and clings. A little girl needing her mommy more than usual. And I was there. I was the final hug and the loudest cheer. I was her strength. I was her coach. I was her mom. And then Mrs. Geary came to Doodle’s rescue. She gave her that hug, that inviting loving hug, the one that said everything was going to be okay. The one that said “I know you will miss your mommy today, but I love you too.” The one that gave Doodle the courage to let go of mommy and soar. Without the love and kindness and positive juju of Mrs. Geary we would have never made it through kindergarten. She was our saving grace and our heart.

I am so grateful for the heart and soul of this little school in the desert. I am in awe at how loving every single teacher is, at how focused they are on growing our children educationally while recognizing that they are in fact little humans. Doodle’s school seems to focus on everything that makes a child a child; play, heart, happiness, education, celebration. They pull out all the stops and truly make education fun.

Until next year…