Monday, August 9, 2010

It Happened on the First Day

Well, the first day of school has come and gone. And I would say it was a success.

Because I drop the kids off early in order to get to work, I had to leave Bubba and Punkin in the gymnasium with about a hundred other kids to wait until it was time to go to their class. Bubba immediately found all his friends and was soon jabbering away, barely noticing my presence. Punkin and I found the line where the kindergarten class was supposed to sit. She didn't cry. She didn't cling to me, as she so often does when she's nervous. She just sat down on the line, criss-cross-applesauce and hugged her bookbag to her chest. I gave her a kiss, told her I loved her and told her I had to leave.

"Okay, Mommy."

"Have a great day, okay?"

"Okay, mommy."

I walked away and turned back to look at her when I reached the gym door. She looked so little sitting there. She saw me looking at her and then she smiled a huge smile and waved at me. I waved back.

I made it to the car. I even made it out of the parking lot. It was only when I called Mr. Daddy to give him a report of how it went that I broke down. And it wasn't full on sobbing, just a catch in my throat and tears pricking behind my eyes.

When I picked them up that afternoon, Punkin rounded the corner first, sweaty but looking happy. She got a smiley face in her agenda, but more importantly she had a smile on her face. But one of the most exciting developments was also one of the most surprising. I asked her "Did you make any friends today?"

"Yes!"

"Who?"

"Bubba!" You see, it turns out that Bubba and Punkin played together in after school. They haven't played well together at home in over a year, with most attempts at joint play evolving into a yell-fest with lots of tears. But on Friday Bubba even allowed Punkin to join the Memangee Club, a club created two years ago by a group of sweaty boys in the after school program. The only requirement to join the club, apparently, is to be able to chase Katie Smith really fast. Punkin, as it turns out, is a pretty fast runner. So, she's in like Flynn. Of course it doesn't hurt that Bubba is the President of the Memangee Club. And he's promised her that next year, she can be president.

It does my heart good to see him looking after her like that. She thinks he hung the moon, but she thinks he doesn't love her. He would probably like to pretend that he doesn't, but his actions on Friday make it pretty clear to me that he does. Hopefully she'll soon realize it too.

6 comments:

Burgh Baby said...

Aw, that's so sweet! And so exactly how it's supposed to work with siblings. Never let anybody know you like each other, except for when it counts most.

for a different kind of girl said...

So glad she had a great day, and that she had a guardian angel in her big brother. Here's hoping for only good days from here on out!

AndreAnna said...

So glad it went well. I have mini panic attacks thinking of Charlotte going to kindergarten and its a whole other year away

Lauren said...

With Lil' C it was major tears...but big man? I knew he was gonna be Ok, so I didn't cry.

I have a feeling that this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship for Bubba and Punkin!

Crissy said...

I felt the tears pricking behind my eyes just reading this!!! Soooo sweet.

Unknown said...

Awwww! This catching-up thing is quite handy - I would have been sweating it out with you to see how her day went! Glad things went so well. :) And I'm glad Bubba is being so sweet - tell him it will pay off in about 10 years when he wants to meet Punkin's friends! ;)