The Day Before School Starts

September 6, 2016

For Lucy, the first day of school rivals Christmas Eve
She's been talking about the first day of school since the beginning of August
She is so excited to be in second grade
Are you nervous at all? I've asked her
No way she assures me!!!
But then she says well, maybe just a little nervous
What are you nervous about kiddo?
Second grade is on the second floor...what if I trip going up the stairs or coming down?
Hmm, that is a legit concern I say
Yeah well, that's what I'm nervous about
So we devised a plan to hopefully avoid any such falls
Now she's not so nervous
Today, she woke up and spent most of the morning bouncing around the house giggling and laughing and hooting and hollering about tomorrow
She took an inventory of her school supplies
She laid everything out on the bed and counted it twice
She admired every pencil, marker, glue stick and notebook like they were the crown jewels
When I told her we needed to stop at school to drop something off, she got so excited, she may have passed out
And when we walked in and she saw her 1st grade teacher, her principal and her new teacher all at once, her head almost exploded
There was a bit of a battle of what she would wear tomorrow but we finally reached a compromise And spoiler alert, her outfit will have cats on it
We celebrated the day before school starting like it was a holiday
We went out for dinner and there was chocolate cake for dessert
She received text messages from Noni and Papa and Auntie Cheetie wishing her a happy first day of school
Auntie Flea (who is a teacher and started school today) Facetimed Lucy and she was happy to show off her new backpack and lunch box
Lucy showered, brushed her teeth and read stories with her Dad
Before bed, we had Lucy try on her outfit and shoes (because unlike responsible parents, we did not have her try on anything at the time of purchase...no no, we like to play that game of we'll try it on as soon as we get home and return whatever does not fit.....three months later, I'm giving away clothes with tags still attached)
I put her to bed and as we lay there, Lucy wiggled and giggled and was just so excited to start school she could not lay still
I suggested she say a prayer to see if that would help her settle down
She prayed that she would have a good day, that she would do her best and asked God to stay with her to help her get through the day
She closed her prayer by saying and God, if you could, please make sure I don't trip going up or down the stairs that would be great.....I don't want to get blood on my new backpack
She was asleep in less than ten minutes
But, she has been downstairs twice since we put her to bed
Once to see if it was morning yet
I assured her it was not I thought I slept through the first day of school she said in a sleepy voice
I assured her I would not let that happen
She went back upstairs on her own pausing to look out the window to make sure it was still in fact night time
The second time she came down was about twenty minutes ago 

She asked if it was morning yet so she could go to school 
No honey, not yet

She stamped her foot at me and legit started to cry 

Why not???

Why not what honey?

Why isn't morning?? I want it to be morning!

Well, the earth is still rotating on its axis Luce....we have to wait for it to complete its turn before the sun comes up and its morning...
She stared at me
She stamped her foot again 

WHY ISN'T IT MORNING????

I gave her a hug and a glass of water and assured her if she went to sleep, morning would be here before she knew it
She glared at me
Where's Daddy?

In the basement sweetie
Fine, I'll just go get him, he'll make it morning for me

So she went to see her Dad
She came back up a minute later and looked out the window
Still night I see

It is Luce
Well, guess that didn't work 
Guess not...why don't you head upstairs honey, I'll be up in a minute
No!
Honey, come on now 
You know what, you won't let it be morning, I won't let you take me upstairs!
Oh, Ok well, that sounds reasonable 
I don't want to be reasonable, I want it to be morning!
Ok well honey, I'm not sure what you want me to do....I just want you to get a good night's sleep for tomorrow......
And I just want it to be tomorrow 
Ok well listen little Orphan Annie, the sun will come out tomorrow but first, you need to go to bed
What? Why do you say such weird things Mumma? You don't even make sense!
I know.....but it's part of my job 
Great, you don't make sense and Daddy tells bad jokes and you two are supposed to take care of a child??
What is happening right now Luce?
I don't know Mumma.....I might just be tired.....I don't even know what I am saying.....

Sean took her upstairs

She was asleep within five minutes

I anticipate at least two more visits from her before the sun rises
Pretty sure those conversations will make even less sense