Kindergarten

By Jae-Ha Kim
jaehakim.com
August 23, 2013

Kyle started kindergarten this week. It was all we could do to get that first picture. His friends were waiting for him across the street and he was in a rush to join them.

Luckily, I had the chalkboard prop ready to go. Isn’t it cute? I take no credit for it. It came as part of Hallmark‘s Pics ‘n’ Props School Days Kit. Those of you who know me know that my handwriting is nowhere near as legible as what’s depicted on this sign.

Anyhow, to say that Kyle was excited to attend the “big” school is an understatement. For the past four years, our little boy would run to the front door when he heard the noisy parade of children marching to school. He would try to open the door to join them.

It seems like just yesterday that I was waiting for this day to arrive. And now, here it was. I didn’t cry, like I did on his first day of preschool, when he was going to a school where he knew no one. This day, he was laughing and excited to join his classmates, many of whom he has palled around with for most of his life.

Not long after I became a mom, a friend asked how I was adjusting to parenthood. She looked at me — disheveled and clearly in need of a good night’s sleep — and said sympathetically, “The days are long. But the years go by fast.”

At that time, I’m pretty sure I wanted to punch her in the throat. I couldn’t imagine even a month going by quickly, much less a year.

Yet, here I am, wondering how my little baby has gotten so big already, and asking myself the cliched question, “Where has the time gone?”

By the way, my little daredevil fractured his wrist and is sporting a cast and sling. But, that’s a post for another day.

© 2013 JAE-HA KIM | All Rights Reserved