First of The First Days

The first day of kindergarten has to be one of the biggest first days in any one's lifetime. I still remember mine, as I am sure most of us do. I remember the excitement and anticipation as I walked into the classroom clinging on to my Superman lunch box with one hand and my Dad with the other. It was at that point in my life, my proudest moment. I felt like I was all grown up. The pride I felt however, is not even in the hemisphere of the honor I felt today, as I held on to the hand of my little angel Nicole, as she began the same journey!

As we walked through the school yard up towards the classroom, I was desperately trying to find the words that I would say when I left her. I wanted them to be inspiring, I wanted them to be perfect. I wanted the heavens to open and shine down on me as I spoke, so that I could share with her the secret of life. I wanted them to be so powerful that, she would use them in her Valedictorian speech from Harvard Medical School, 20 years from now. I pondered on the words of the poets, and the great speakers of our time. I even tried to muster up some Obama. However, when the time to say goodbye finally came, the message that I spit out was short, un -poetic and extremely heartfelt. I simply said " I am so proud of you, I love you, and I know you will do great! And how did she respond to my eloquent speech, you ask? She simply asked " Daddy after school today, can I have a slurpee?

As I was leaving the room I did the one thing all the experts say never to do, the Cardinal Sin of separation ,if you will. I looked back! To my surprise, Nicole had completely forgotten about me, and was busy sizing up all her new classmates. The enormity of the event, had not fazed her at all. She was truly exited to be there. That's when the tears came. Not from Nicole though, they fell like rain from her father. Thankfully, she never saw them. I wish I could say the same for the masses of parents in the halls, and the school yard. The school crossing guard probably thought I was insane. I cant explain the emotions that caused the display, except that they were not tears of sadness. I felt like the luckiest man on earth, and I realized that I was doing more than just dropping my kid off at school. I was sharing our precious gift with the rest of the world!!

5 uniform polos, 2 skorts, 2 jumper dresses, 3 t shirts, 2 pairs Baby Gap ( i know) jeans, 2 pairs baby Gap ( i know i know) shoes, 5 different kinds of sanitizer, 4 bottles of glue, 1 butterfly backpack, 1 Hello Kitty lunch bag, 1 Hanna Montana notebook, 1 Princess notebook, 4 other notebooks, 3 boxes of kleenex, one recycled school box, 2 packs of Great Job stickers, 3 boxes of crayons, 60 #2 pencils, 2 things of playdoo, did I mention hand sanitizer, and a partridge in a pear tree = $ 450.00

This look on my beautiful girl's face PRICELESS