It is way too quiet around here.

This morning was a little surreal. We were well prepared, so it wasn't hectic. The supplies have been ready for weeks. The clothes were laid out.

But it didn't fully register until I saw this:

My big girl suddenly seemed too grown up. Yes, I am SO ready for her to join the traditional ranks of fellow students. But I have been so accustomed to supervising every tiny aspect of her life for the past 7 years, it was very difficult to send her into the unknown.

 We had attended all the recommended tours, meet and greets, and Q&As. She found her classroom quite easily.

Then we headed outside to where the kids line up to enter the school with their classes.

She already loves her teacher, and she found some familiar faces from her class church.

I bent down for a hug, and said, "Have a great day!" All I got was a nonchalant, "Okay, bye mom." No surprise there. This girl has been socially independent since day one. 

Sigh. 

I hid amid the crowd of parents and watched her for a few minutes. Waiting to make sure her bravado wasn't just a mask that would crumble after I left. Nope. No crumbling mask. Just a big girl waiting patiently in line to start her first day of school.

Big sigh.

Mason is in afternoon kindergarten, so I wisely told  him to wait until after we had eaten lunch to get his uniform on.

He seemed excited, but I don't think he really knew what he was in for. He just knew that he had special clothes that had been purchased for this occasion, so it must be a big deal. 

He was very anxious to get to his classroom.

There is only one PM kindergarten class, so it was a much quieter drop-off situation. But it was still a bit of a mad house. All the kids had their parents with them, helping them to find their desks and organizing their supplies.

Mason and a few other kids couldn't find their names, so there was a last-minute rush to bring in more desks. Mason ended up sitting right in front of his teacher's desk. I hope that ends up being a good thing. I watched as he listened intently for his name to be called during attendance, and when he heard his name he raised his hand and said loud and clear, "Mason!"

I sure hope everything goes okay. It's a good thing he is only there for three hours...I can't imagine keeping him on task for half of that amount of time. His teacher has her work cut out for her.

I returned home to a quiet house--Chad works evenings still, and he had already put Lincoln down for his nap. It is very weird. I don't know what to do with myself. I will definitely have to make myself to-do lists for each day or I will waste the hours away. But I'm not worried--I will not have any trouble finding plenty to do.

Today, though, I am just watching the clock. Thinking that right about now they'll be getting out of school and heading to the gym for the soccer program we signed up for. I hope they remember where to go. But the school has amazing staff, so I'm not too worried. I feel great about our school choice, and I can't wait to hear how the first day went!