"Kindergarteners, Lead the Way!"

(The real quote is "Rangers, Lead The Way!" stated by Colonel Francis W. Dawson on the occasion of the Normandy Invasion in 1944.)

It's just that Monday morning's events felt a little like an invasion. The school had already had a practice invasion last Thursday when the big kids had their first day of school. But they'd been there before. Today was the kindergarteners' first day, the real invasion into a whole new world, a whole new life.

I noticed there were many ways to handle this stressful event. Cheeks were stained with tears - on both parents and children. Some parents coaxed and cooed and sweet-talked. Others gave a quick hug, said their well wishes and were off. Others stayed and stayed and stayed...

I have to admit, it was not easy. Princess daughter has been going to parent-day-out and preschool programs since she was six months old, but there was a sense that this is the beginning of her moving further from us, the center of her orbit.

Just when it seemed like the invasion might not be successful, the capable and experienced teachers took things into their own hands, the students began to look like they belonged there, and we parents felt like the invaders. As we filed out of the classroom, we were torn between our reassurance that our little ones were adjusting just fine and the realization that the classroom would now be the center of their world, at least for seven hours a day. We hoped they would be glad to see us at 3:10. They were.