Dear Alexis,
In just a few short hours, a bright yellow school bus will pull up in front of our house and will carry you to your first day of The Rest Of Your Life. It's the beginning of a new chapter, nay, the beginning of your new book. It's the first time in your life that will really, truly count for something. From here on out, everything you do counts.
Welcome to The School Years, kid.
The impressions you make in kindergarten will, in some ways, travel with you everywhere you go for a very long time. Will you be one of the Smart Kids? One of the Nice Kids? One of the Popular Kids? One of The Bullies? I don't know. I do what I can to protect and guide you, but the impressions you make will be entirely yours. I can't be there to give you hints as to how to interact with your peers. You just have to be YOU. You have to be the person you want to be, own that person, and be willing to defend that person. You'll have to learn to ignore what other people think.
It's something that is so much easier said than done.
I'm not sure you're ready to ignore what people think. I know I wasn't until I was much, much older than you are now.
But kindergarten? You are SO ready for that. You carefully selected your clothes for your first day and folded them gently on top of your dresser. Your backpack has been packed and repacked. Your lunch bag is in the fridge and holds many of your favorite things, along with a surprise or two that I hope will bring you a smile in the middle of a fantastic first day of school.
Alexis, you've been a little annoyed by everyone's questions about whether or not you were excited for kindergarten to start. I think you've sensed that maybe there is a reason you shouldn't be excited. You told me today that you're a little worried you aren't a good enough reader yet, which I suppose was your attempt at trying to guess why all the grown-ups seem to be leery of the idea of kindergarten. Kinnley Monster, you're more than a good enough reader. You have every reason in the world to be excited for the start of this new book in your life because you are going to love it.
You love to learn. You love it more than you love anything in this world. You and school are a match made in heaven because it will give you a chance to dive into adventures, explore worlds unseen, and accomplish things you never thought possible. You're going to make new friends as you travel down your path to greatness.
I know you are going to do great things. I don't know what you'll choose to do, I just know you'll kick some ass doing it. It's just who you are.
Enjoy this next part of your journey, Alexis. Enjoy every second of it. I'll just be standing over here watching. There is nowhere else I'd rather be.
Love,
Momma
P.S.
Thanks for still calling me "Momma," my little kindergartner.
