First Day of School

She woke up, and knew that today was the day:
First day of school.

She was handling the morning 'to-do's better than we anticipated, but her nerves were oh so present.

When it was time to go, she was definitely a nervous nelly:

Daddy made sure Mr. Bunny came along for the ride (hoping we could get her jazzed/ relaxed a bit more):

And it worked! The nerves stayed in the driveway, as the four of us paraded to school.

(I only took these three pics, as my full focus was on Quinny's moment to moment. Historically with this kid, activities that bring her anxiety can also bring a boat full of meltdowns, so I needed to continually look out for the warning signs to keep her brain riding the course).

On the way to school (it really is like a 1/4 mile walk) we passed 5 people we knew, who cheered Quinny on and gave such love and encouragement!
This community is so ridiculously rad- walking on main street with our babes in the stroller, Jake's coffee fogging in the air, neighbors saying the good mornings and go-get-em's...it really could have been a commercial for 'The Blessed Life'.

Arriving at school, entering the door to her classroom the old routine started: "Mommy hold me, hold me." She kept saying in a panicked voice.

But the moment we got into the classroom, it was a different ball game.

She went straight to the ponies she knew were waiting for her, and met a little lass there, a sweet, shy little girl who engaged her in a convo. about Rainbow Dash and Pinky Pie.

Two minutes later:
"Ok honey, we're going to head home. We'll be back soon to pick you up. Remember Teacher Beth is here to help you feel safe."
"Ok Mommy. Bye Daddy. Bye Carter."

And that was that.
No crying.
No meltdowns.
No anxiety.
Totally unreal.

We headed home and waited the 3 hours till pick up time- waiting to see if her streak of tenacity carried her through the day.

It had!
Teacher Beth told us that she was beyond surprised how helpful and attentive Quinny was. How she was the first to clean up, the first to sit down when asked, and the first to line up. She said Quinny had an amazing day.

On our walk home we asked Lou how school was:
"Good. I learned and played. Can I go back tomorrow?"

Such a wonderful day we shared as a clan.
Hopeful-ness is carrying on and this year is going to be so rad!