Avery has started Kindergarten.He knew it was coming, and over the past couple of weeks, he had started to ask questions about what would happen next, as far as school. It was clear that his little mind was trying to feel out this whole Kindergarten thing. (I can understand his anxiety, as we had all had a crazy few weeks through my Father's illness and funeral). And older brother Noah was quite helpful, explaining everything about his school (from the lunchroom to the bathroom)- and what to expect. He had been there before.
Yesterday was Avery's first day. Jessica and I were nervous wrecks. But Avery was brave, and handled himself quite well, and I am so proud of him. Honestly, he was quite nervous, and by the end of the first day - he was totally exhausted (more from the emotional toll than anything, I think). But he came home with a huge grin on his face, and told me that his favorite part of his day was riding the bus. (I am not surprised, as I am big fan of kids riding buses, a slave to my own experience, I guess. In my youth, Winston-Salem was under court order to integrate schools, by using busing routes that took all of us to the other end of the city. Our bus rides were about an hour each way. But I always enjoyed it, and made some great friends on those rides - though I was not the best behaved kid either.)
I think the part I like the most about my child starting Kindergarten is that it is a cultural rite of passage. Much has been researched and written about the continued decline of rite of passage moments here in industrial western culture; and how it is making it harder for kids to understand the expectations of growing up. I tend to agree, and that is why I love this first day so much. It is a day in Avery's life, when all of the people who love him will help him get through it. We explain it to him, define the expectations - and then nudge him into the wilderness of the experience. We hope that he comes out the other side with a new perspective - and will be better able to fulfill the expectations of what we, his community, value.And it is NOT only he who is going through it - it is all of the kids in his community (especially because almost every family here supports the local public schools - which gives more meaning to this experience). And if they are not doing it today - then they did it before, or they will do it in the future. So, when we took this photo of all of these kids about to board the bus for this moment - the rite of passage is all I could think about. (and Yes - I am thinking about the perfect Indigo Girls record of the same name).
And it gave me comfort.
These are my hopes for my beautiful youngest child. I hope that he grows with the experience, and that he is nimble enough to change, as needed.
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