Preschool

I love seeing my children's firsts!  You know what I mean...first smile, first time they pull up on the furniture, first steps, first words.  Watching my kids grow and learn is such a blessing to me.  I am always amazed and humbled that God chose me for this job; this job of parenting Jacob, Eli, and Abel.

Today, I got to see another first.  Eli had his first day of preschool.  He's attending a two-day-a-week, halfday preschool at a local church.  I'm so excited for him, but at the same time, I'm a little sad.

He gets to learn and do so many things that I couldn't offer him here at home--school routines, playing with others, working in a group situation, making friends, and responding to authority other than Matt and me!  Those are fabulous benefits for him that prepare him for "big school" and life in general.  But, that leaves me without his precious, little presence two mornings a week.

When Eli was little, his first word wasn't "Mama."  It wasn't his second word, or his third word.  As a matter of fact, it came pretty far down the list.  He just didn't say it.  Matt always teased that Eli didn't need to say "Mama" because he just thought he was part of me; that we were one and the same.  He's my boy, for sure!  Now, my boy is leaving my side two mornings a week and I'm feeling a little wistful.

This morning, we drove to preschool.  Eli climbed out, new bookbag thrown over his little shoulders, and waltzed right in.  He greeted his teacher with a "superhero" pose and without any hesitation, walked right in his classroom.  I stood there holding tightly onto my Abel-baby, and called my boy back for a hug.  He put his little arms around my neck, and spoke quickly into my ear, "I love you, Mama!" With that, he turned and headed to a table strewn with toy cars, leaving me standing there with tears filling my eyes.  I squeezed my little Abel, and we walked to the car.

At 1:00, after a morning full of fun with Abel (and feeling a bit like I was missing something), I headed back to get Eli.  I walked in to see him sitting with the other kiddos looking at books.  He looked up, caught my eye, grinned, and ran into my arms...sigh!  He told me about the fun he had, how he played in the gym, and had birthday cake.  He told me about another Eli in his class, and kangaroos.  He took me by the hand as we headed out, and I knew in my Mama's-heart that preschool is going to be great!!