We (I) Survived Kindergarten

Well, we survived. The first day of kindergarten has come and gone and all is well. There was a bit of anxiety last night, some from her, more from me, but this morning she was ready. Ready for new friends, new experiences, a new playground at recess.

Drop off was uneventful. There was a quick hug, kiss, and reminder to be good and then she was out the door, queuing up with the rest of the kids and filing in. I idled for a moment, taking as much time as I thought the car behind me would tolerate, but there was no looking back. She entered those doors the same way that she attacks every new adventure, full of enthusiasm and self-confidence.

I was proud but kept it together. I know that is what you all are wondering. There were a few extra blinks but by the time I got to the gym my eyes were clear. It’s not a matter of worrying if she was ready, not sentimentality over how quickly we’ve arrived at this moment. The issue for me is that I missed her, as I knew I would. I missed my partner, my little buddy.

I kept busy. I stopped often to make sure there weren’t any messages waiting for me, but eventually the yard got mowed. There was nobody waiting for a tractor ride when I finished, but I didn’t dwell, quickly moving on to the next chore.

Unfortunately, today was the easy day. Wednesdays are my day off so I was there to pick her up, to hear about her day and tuck her in at night. When I drop her off tomorrow that will be the extent of our time together until wake up on Friday morning. Friday’s drop off will be it until Saturday morning. It’s not something that she has realized yet, but a dilemma that I have been acutely aware of for months, at one point even threatening to quit my job .

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My bluff got called, my hours remain the same, and I’ve calmed down a bit since then. It’s a new reality but one that we will get used to.

I also still haven’t completely given up on my plan to place cameras around her classroom enabling me to live stream her day. The technology is there, I just need to work out the logistics.

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This post was previously published on ThirstyDaddy and is republished here with permission from the author.

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