It went fine

There were three of us to pick Daisy up after her first day of preschool--Mark, Gommy, and me. She did not cry, we learned, and she did fine. She asked a teacher to help her use the potty and used it successfully. The head teacher told us Daisy was okay at school, busy and occupied, but warned me not to expect that she will necessarily be fine next time, or all the time. I guess sometimes the kiddies have a bit of a delayed reaction, or perhaps a negative response to realizing how often they are going to be at school. There was a lot of crying when we left the school--not from Daisy, but from some of the other kids.

When we arrived, they were finishing up circle time. The teacher told Daisy her mom was here, and she came running. She had a big smile and seemed excited and energized about school. She was thrilled to see Gommy, who was a surprise. She especially liked the singing and dancing part, she told us (I'm not quite sure what they did, exactly, but Daisy says there was some singing and dancing). When I asked her what else she had done, she said she had "played." She mentioned some other kids and the teacher favorably.

Leaving her at school was hard for me. I found myself starting to cry before the moment of leaving, and I excused myself to the bathroom so she wouldn't see me. Then I did some crying when I left. Hopefully I was successful in sheltering Daisy from anxiety I was feeling. I am just not used to this feeling of not knowing what she's experiencing. Daisy said goodbye very maturely to me and Mark; she didn't look carefree, and she didn't look deeply absorbed in any activity, but rather she had a serious, self-contained look, like she was going to rise to the occasion. When I picked her up, she did say, "I called for you, Mom." I asked her if she had cried, and she said no (which the teacher later confirmed). But she mentioned another little girl had "cried out for her mama," so she, Daisy, had too. I think it was fine, though.

Daisy told us she'd visited Henry in his classroom. I'm not sure how many times that happened. Henry, for his part, seemed absolutely fine and did not visit Daisy in her classroom! After school, they ran on the lawn together for a long time pretending to be a train, breaking down and flopping in the wet grass. Their new school clothes got completely wet and muddy, but they were having fun and it was good to end their first day of school so happily.

And now I need to gear up for Day Two!