Tonight was Xavier's last night as a child. Tomorrow morning he starts school as a Kindergartener and his life will never be the same. The next 13 years, at least for Shannon and I, will be a whirlwind of papers to stick on the fridge, social functions, good and bad friendships, gobs and gobs of lunch money, and everything else that comes with sending your child to school.
When I got home from work this evening Xavier, Shannon and Gideon were sitting in the floor in the living room, Shannon was discussing some of the things Xavier might be looking forward to or fearing or anticipating.
Here were some of the questions and answers
Shannon: What do you think your teacher will be like?
Xavier: Mean
Shannon: What do you think your table mates will be like?
Xavier: What are those?
Shannon: When we went to your orientation there were 4 or 5 tables sitting around each with 4-5 chairs. You'll, most likely, be assigned to a table with other children assigned to the same table. Those will be your table-mates.
Xavier: I don't know.
Shannon: Do you think you'll make any friends?
Xavier: No. They'll all hate me.
Shannon: You said the same thing before you started the Summer Youth Program, right?
Xavier: Yeah, maybe, I don't remember
Shannon: Then once you started you saw that you made friends easily. And soon..
Xavier: Yeah, soon I was in like a circle and everyone was around my. Kind of like that Target sign, with a circle around a dot.
Shannon: That's right. And you know why?
Xavier: (shrugs his shoulders)
Me: Because people like you.
Shannon: Because you are friendly, nice to people, and really intelligent.
Shannon: and every night when you get home, I'm going to ask you, "How was YOUR day?" and you're going to tell me about all that you learned, everyone you met, what stories you read, what pictures you colored or drew. It's going to be so exciting.
Xavier: just smiled, as his mommy swooped him into her arms and hugged him.
That was just a snippet of an otherwise cute and inspiring conversation preparing him for Kindergarten. Tomorrow morning we will get up, get him ready, take him to school, and walk him to his classroom. As we walk away, Shannon will cry, Gideon will be confused (first time he's leaving his big brother) and I will...
