First Day and a Fresh Start

We realize that it has been a year and a half since our last blog post on Fish Named Puppy, and there have been a ton of little moments and monumental moments missed, including Libby walking, going potty (still learning btw), Harrison going to the Charlestown Playschool, Harrison starting to ride a bike (still with training wheels btw), and Matt and Katy getting new jobs, commencing our lives as DITKs (DOUBLE INCOME TWO KIDS).

But today was a big one. An event of epic proportions, and warranted the resurrection of our family blog, A Fish Named Puppy. Harrison had his first day of kidergarten today.

Last night the excitement and anxiety began when Nona (Katy's mom) gave Harrison a book for his first day of kindergarten. It is entitled The Night Before Kindergarten. So, as the title suggests, it was written in the style of Twas the Night Before Christmas. As Katy started to read, tears came to her eyes with the realization of how monumental this event was. Our night was a bit like Christmas Eve. Harrison was wide awake at 9pm with excitement and he was scared about the school bus. We reassured him that everything would be fine and he would have a lot of fun.

So after Harrison finally fell asleep, mommy and daddy began to get worried. Should we drive him to school and be there to walk him in? Is that what most other parents are doing? If we do that we wouldn't be able to reassure him getting on the bus for the first time to come home. Should we put him on the bus and follow it there to make sure he's okay? This debate, both internal in our minds, and vocalized as banter between Katy and myself, was one of the most worried we've been since possibly the day after Harrison was born when we were told he had pnemunia and had to stay in the NICU for seven days. But I believe it was some of the best communication Katy and I have had in a very long time.

This morning was the day, and when we awoke Harrison was excited, and we were anxious and still not sure of how we would proceed. "PRO-BUS, or PRO-PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT" was the issue of the day, and it made it's debut on facebook to get the opinions of friends and family. The verdict was unanimous; BUS. And what helped our decision was Harrison, who seemed excited and no longer scared of riding on the bus.

It was a long morning as we awaited the mid-day school bus to afternoon kindergarten. But all of the sudden 11:00 was approaching and we realized Harrison needed lunch before getting to the bus stop by 11:17. So we were a bit rushed, but manage to get lunch in the boy, get him in a great outfit, take pictures, brush his teeth, make sure his back pack was packed, shoes were tied, etc. And we got to the school bus at 11:17, precisely 10 mionutes before the scheduled pick up time, as the instructions dictated.

We waited and took pictures, and Harrison was calm and collected. I was surprise he wasn't running out into the busy street (which I had worried he might). Finally, at about 11:30, Mr. Joe pulled up in Bus S5. S5? But we were waiting for bus 25? Mr. Joe assured us it was the correct bus and the bus 25 was in the shop. But Harrison jumped right in with no hesitation, mommy took a picture of Harrison in the bus, and the bus pulled away. We watched our first born in a big yellow vehicle (by himself, also; he was the first stop), and I turned to Katy and saw her eyes tearing up yet again. I, as a very sensitive and emotionally supportive husband, laughed. But we were glad and relieved that he got on the bus so easily.

Now we had to wait until about 3:45 for the bus to drop him off to make sure his day went well. We did our best to concentrate on our work, but we kept looking at the clock saying things like, "Well he's getting to his classroom now." We also made calls to family and friends in the hope that we would be comforted. And for those that assured us that all would be fine, thank you. It really helped us.

Finally our alarms went off at 3:30 reminding us that it was time to pick up Harrison, as if we weren't watching the clock the entire 4+ hours. I went to the bus stop and waited. Many buses went by (we live just around the corner from the bus depot), and I started to get anxious. But sure enough, at about 3:50, bus 19 pulled up, and I saw Harrison stand up and make his way to the front, and bounce down the big steps. I've never been more relieved to see him. And he wasn't in tears, he was in one piece, and he seemed happy.

As we walked home I asked Harrison all about his day. He was so matter-of-fact about his day that I knew it went well. He told me he made a friend on the bus who made him laugh. I was happy to hear that. He told me he had gym class and that he had no homework. Yay!

There was one small problem- the apple we gave him for snack had white residue that Harrison thought was mold and did not eat, so he went without a snack (but everyone got milk). So he seemed to survive without much permanent damage or malnutrition.

I never realized how big of a day this would be. We took plenty of pictures and will post them as soon as we can. But for now, know that Harrison is a great kid; we feel we did a good job so far as parents.

It was reassuring, because we had a rough summer with Harrison. I felt we didn't do enough with Harrison and seemed to be at odds with him about keeping his room and play room clean, treating his sister nicely, nag, nag, nag. But today felt like a new start, a new beginning for our family. I'm sure it will be busy and hectic, but the fact that we worked as a team today to get through it makes me hopeful that this will be a good year. I am the proudest I've been as a father and a husband. We feel like a family again.

So I hope this new beginning will be a chance for you all to hear more stories from our home, and the adventures we face as a family of four. Thanks for reading, we'll be in touch.

Love,
Matt Comber