Dear readers,
I regret to inform you that today marks the end of an era. Today was Ellie's last day before starting preschool.
I realize that shouldn't actually sound so solemn and mournful. Instead, it really should be cause for celebration since a lot of cool things will come out of it. Ellie's going to make new friends and learn a lot of new things. For one thing, she's super excited to learn to write her real name. While she's long been able to write "Ellie", "Eleanor" has been a little more difficult to grasp. She's also pretty excited about getting to do different science experiments and art projects.
Despite her palpable excitement, there's also some serious trepidation on her part. That trepidation was definitely on display as the family loaded up this afternoon to go meet Ellie's new teachers at Little Lambs Preschool.
It was important to all of us that Bethany get to be a part of meeting Ellie's teachers today. Therefore, she scheduled her meetings and responsibilities around leaving the office (home) for 30 minutes over the 2:00 hour. Of course, Ethan didn't really have a choice other than to tag along for this very unusual experience.
I realize "unusual" really isn't the kind of phrase a person would normally use to describe something as mundane as meeting your child's teachers. However, there were several things that made this an experience to remember. For one thing, this was a drive-through event. When we arrived at the school, we joined a line of cars outside the front door and waited patiently.
After a few minutes of waiting, our turn had finally arrived.. The first thing we did was pass two Wal-Mart sacks of school supplies through the windows into the waiting arms of the teachers. Then, we rolled down the back window for Ellie to meet Ms. Anna and Ms. Molly. While we expected Ellie to be her normal exuberant self, she was anything but. First of all, she was mumbling and basically refusing to make eye contact with her teachers. However, that was far from the strangest thing she did.
As her teachers continued to interact with both Ellie and Ethan in the back seat, Ellie then did something that we have never seen her do before. She carefully lifted up her leg so that her foot was right in front of her mouth and proceeded to lick the sole of her sandal. Allow me to say that again. She LICKED the SOLE of her SANDAL. Feel free to join me in saying "EWWWWWWWWWWW." Seriously, I don't even want to think about the germs on the bottom of that particular piece of footwear. Also, what a first impression to make with your preschool teachers, am I right?
Moving on from the sandal-licking escapade for a moment, I want to be real for a moment. It's actually kind of a sobering thought to realize that after four-plus years of spending almost every single day with Ellie, she's getting ready to head to preschool. Yes, it's only two and a half hours a day, three times a week, but it's still kind of weird.
I know she's going to learn a lot, make a ton of new friends, and have so much fun. However, that doesn't stop me from thinking about all the times I've gotten irritated with her or selfishly didn't spend time with her. I just can find solace in the knowledge that there are still plenty of good times ahead for the two of us before I inevitably embarrass her to death as a teenager and isn't that all that I can really ask for? #DaddyWrite
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