Chloe starts school

Thousands of children will this week begin the long road of formal education, as they congregate around the country for their first day of school and darling Chloe is one.

In July she "graduated" from St. Nicholas Pre-School.

and St. Thomas Garnet's Pre School.

"Congratulations!  Today is your day.  You're off to Great Places!  You're off and away!  You have brains in your head.  You have feet in your shoes.  You can steer yourself any direction you choose".
(Dr. Seuss wrote these words in Oh the Places You'll Go).

Well, here it is - your first day of school.  You've been so exited about this for weeks.  Today you will put on your school uniform - all by yourself and for real, not just 'practice'!

I'm sure Caroline will feel a little emotional leaving you in the classroom....because it's difficult to fathom how her baby girl is so ready to be a schoolgirl.

In the blink of an eye, you have gone from the tiny baby that I held in my arms to a little girl that I love to wrap my arms around.

Where have those five years gone already?  And why do I feel the next five years are going to go even faster.

I know you will shine.  You are a beautiful, bright girl who can light up a room with your smile and you are genuinely happy and delighted with life most of the time (unless I deny you more cake).

I have a touch of sorrow that Chloe is entering the first institution of many she'll encounter in life.  From now on she must fit into the system and join the mass of the mainstream.  Soon she'll be assessed, ranked, judged and assigned marks.  For her own good, she'll be part of a system that increasingly likes to test and rate and label.  I stress for the stress she'll feel.

Her strengths and weaknesses will become apparent.  But remember adults can hide behind the jobs they do.  Writers don't need maths, accountants don't need creative writing skills, scientists don't need to do art, computer programmers don't do much public speaking. 

But I'll try and drown that lump in my throat with a chilled glass of champagne because my overriding emotion is happiness.  Chloe has been so excited it is infectious.  Seeing her uninhibited joy and pride as she marches off into "big school"in her new uniform and shiny school shoes is absolutely priceless.  I'm so thankful that she is embracing this change in her life and is enthusiastically launching herself into everything that school is offering her.

There is a special kind of pride that comes from watching your child muster their courage, steel themselves, and let go of your hand......it hurts like hell (and, yes, Caroline I did have a few tears just as soon as I got home from taking you to school for the first day) but oh boy, the pride!

In the meantime, as Dr. Seuss wrote so many years ago.  "Today is your day!  Your mountain is waiting.  So......get on your way"!

And darling Emmie is now in Year 1 and loving school.  Long may it continue.

And Jamie, well Jamie still loves his trains....