Pretty Preschool Princess

We have reached the end. The end of Molly's first year of preschool. And yet, I still cannot erase the indelible mental snapshot from the beginning of the school year. It is a picture of me, crying, sitting in my car after dropping Molly off for the first time. I just could not believe that my baby was old enough to be going to school. She looked so adorable in her big ol' backpack. And, she jumped right out of the car and walked away from me with nary a wave.

First day of Preschool. How cute is she?

As I sat in my car, trying to control the tears, I just couldn't reconcile my two incredibly conflicting thoughts about her starting preschool.

First Thought: I am so glad that she is confident enough to be able to go into a new situation without anxiety and hand-wringing. She does not get this from me. I was such a shy child growing up. At one point, my mom had to sweet talk the school in order to get me switched into my best friend's class so I would not be alone and terrified. I am so proud of my little girl just jaunting into her new school, excited, happy, unafraid. She is Mommy's little rock star.

Second Thought: Couldn't she at least be a little sad about leaving her mommy? I'm not talking holding-onto-my-leg-while-sobbing-uncontrollably sad, but a few seconds of pause and maybe a slight tear-welling is all I was asking for. I didn't get it. Nor, did I get it for the entire rest of the year. She loved school and always made sure I knew it.

Preschool was a learning experience for both of us, really. It is such a weird flip to suddenly be on the parent side of school. Molly never went to daycare, so this was a completely new experience for me. All of a sudden, I was in charge of keeping track of all the schedules, when to take what to show-and-tell, when school breaks were, what days you have to wear certain colors. I like to think of myself as organized, but when it came to preschool this year, I did not shine. I completely forgot Molly's school picture day. She ended up wearing her hair in pigtails with a Minnie Mouse t-shirt and jeans while all the other girls looked adorable in their dresses. I missed deadlines for sending in supplies. I completely blanked on book sale cut-off times. It is a good thing our tuition was on auto bill pay, or we probably would've been kicked out for non payment. So, I am sending out a big old "I'm sorry" to Ms. Kim. She not only had to deal with 10 preschoolers, but she had to deal with me, a first-time preschool parent. And, for that, I apologize.

Molly's last day of preschool was this past Thursday. It also happened to be Cory's birthday. Happy Birthday, honey, you get to go to a preschool picnic! I know it's what he had always dreamed of doing on his 32nd birthday. And, as it happened, it was pouring down rain that day, so it was an indoor picnic. One bright note: we got to use our picnic basket, which has been sitting unused in our basement since our wedding. It only took nine years, but we finally got our romantic picnic date. Albeit we were surrounded by 3- and 4-year-olds, their parents, teachers, and siblings, but you take what you can get, right?

So to celebrate Molly's first of 15 end-of-the-school-years, here are some pictures from her "picnic."

What a cutie.

Checking out her "certificate" for the completion of the year.

The class, minus a couple, with Ms. Kim.

Showing me her awesome certificate. And, yes, that is Charlotte's arm on the side.

Molly jumping hoops in the obstacle course.

Eating a "picnic" lunch with Daddy on his birthday. 

With Ms. Kim and Molly's goofy smile.

And, if you want to waste a couple minutes ... here's a video of Molly dancing the hokey pokey with all her friends at the picnic. Be prepared for a lot of preschool cuteness. Or, annoyance. It all depends on your point of view, I guess.