I woke up in maybe April in a panic because I realized that while we had done all of our research and were completely sold on Brian moving schools, we hadn't done a whole heck of a lot to prepare him for the move. I emailed the principal and asked some questions and we agreed that he would shadow. He loved his visit and although he did ask me if he could go there for just 2nd grade and then back to his new school, (NOT a possibility) I felt reassured that the transition would be okay.
I also contacted a parent of another 2nd grader I kind of knew and asked her to help hook us up with some other "boy moms." This summer we had several play dates with some of the families, so I felt like Brian was going in with a few familiar faces.
The last thing that reassured me was that Brian's teacher offered on her own to have Brian come in and meet her prior to the first day. This was soooo nice of her and really helped us both!
The first day, Brian was all smiles after he recovered from the fact that I woke him up when it was still dark outside. Catholic school starts early! His first bell is 7:05a.m.!!
Lilah's first day should have really been no big deal considering she's been with me at the preschool her entire life. She was SUPER excited though, so we went with it. Shawn even came out to see her before she went in on her first day. She was literally bouncing with excitement. It's kind of sad to think that this is her last year of preschool and her last year at St. Pats.
The memory of both first days is emotional. That visit I mentioned where Brian got to meet his teacher? That happened on the last day Brian saw my Dad. Dad watched Lilah and when we went to pick her up, Brian went in with me to get her. Dad died on the day of the preschool's first play date. I went to work and handled what needed to be handled. I went to Lilah's play date the next day and the week after. But it's all a blur. It's hard to look at the pictures of Lilah's first day because she was so excited and I was so completely exhausted.
We kept things as normal as possible for the kids during that time. Brian didn't miss a minute of school. I don't regret it. I want my kids to grow up aware that death is a part of life and life has to keep on going. Dad did know that Brian was enjoying his new school before he died because even though he didn't see Brian after school began, he and I talked about it. It was important to Dad that Brian do well and continue to overcome. I know he was very proud.
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