Starting School

My little girl started school today. For weeks and weeks, nay months I have looked forward to and dreaded this day. Excited for her, and all the wonderful things she is going to do, the new things she will learn, and the  friends she will make. But, for me…some sadness. She has been my constant companion for four and a half years. Other than the last year and a half at Nursery for two hours of a morning, I have never been without her.  In fact, I don’t know a world without her.

She looked unutterably adorable in her uniform, and was so proud to wear it.  She puffed out her little chest and skipped along the pavement. We led her into her classroom and hung her coat on her peg. She marched straight over to a table and sat down and started drawing. We hovered anxiously, she smiled at both me and Luke, gave us kisses and said goodbye. We stood outside the classroom for a while watching her. She continued to draw, chatting away to the other little girls at her table and never looked round once.  Eventually we dragged ourselves away and walked home.

At lunch we walked back to school to pick her up, she looked a little less tidy when she came out, and very grumpy, apparently very cross that she was not going to eat her lunch there, as she is part time until January. She insisted I piggy back her home, which I did, all the way..and I received oodles of cuddles on the sofa. Orla said that she liked her day, her school..but couldn’t tell us what she did there as it was ‘a secret’. She wants to go back tomorrow.

So…