It's been several years coming but our oldest finally hit that milestone, her first day of school.  She woke up before I did this morning, I had stayed up late last night working on a few geekFoundry projects so my morning was a little slow going.  She was enjoying her Toaster Scramble while I flipped on Ni Hao Ki Lan, it's one of her favorite shows.  Thankfully her mom is better than I so she was already dressed and ready to go.  I went and  grabbed her kinder-mat, a padded mat they sleep on or rest on I guess, and helped Littlefoot get her backpack on.  The thing is as big as she is!
     One thing we didn't count on was the school traffic.  We had to drive through 2 school zones before getting to hers, something we learned is that we'll have to leave much earlier next time.  We don't want her riding the school bus yet, I'm not sure when I'll be comfortable with that.  But we finally got her there and got her inside to her class.  We spoke to some of the teachers again and all was going well until she held on just a little longer than normal for one of her hugs.  I could tell she was on the verge of getting upset but she went to hug her mom and then a teacher with great timing came over and offered to help her pick out a book.  Nik and I snuck out fighting back tears as we went.  Our Littlefoot wasn't so little anymore.
     Today we'll pick her up and offer to take her to lunch if she'd like to go.  It's a big deal.  We came home to our youngest who was waiting with Grandma and had a big smile for us when we walked in.  We fixed breakfast and went on about our day.  It seems odd her being in school, obviously I'm reminded of when I started school all those years ago (we won't go into how many years ago, LOL) and I think she's got a great opportunity at her school.  The environment seems right for her to grow and learn in, it's warm and inviting.  

     So, now I have a child in the public school system, a good friend of mine made a comment a while back that has stuck with me.  I used to fret over how the school system would change her . . . now I wonder how she'll change the system, ha ha.

To my oldest who might one day read this; have a blast, never stop learning, and make an impact everyday.  
Love, 
Daddy