Biscuit's first day

I would definitely call Biscuit's first day a success. He walked in like he owned the place, and I sat in the car and cried about it.

It was definitely a group effort to get us out the door and to school on time. It's a complete shake-up of our usual morning schedule. My Mama came up Sunday afternoon, so she could be here on his first day. She's seen all three of her other grandkids heading off to school, so she didn't want to miss seeing Biscuit.

And I'm glad she was here.

Jeff got up earlier than he was supposed to so he could help. And despite moving slowly for about 5 or so minutes, Biscuit was in a good mood when we got him up.

Biscuit has a tendency to dawdle over breakfast. I bet Jeff and I say the word "eat" at least 50 times each morning.

"Mom, did you know ..." Biscuit will say.

"Eat!" I'll say.

"Um, Dad, do you remember when ..." Biscuit will say.

"Eat!" Jeff will say.

And yesterday was more of the same.

Sunday afternoon, I let Biscuit help pick out his clothes for the first week. We got his days-of-the-week cubby holes packed up. Each day has an outfit, underwear, socks and PJs. It's a very nice system that keeps me from having to deal with it each morning.

I also packed up as much as I could of Biscuit's lunch Sunday night. He's such a pick eater that I knew he would be taking his lunch. I let him help pick out what he wanted, and he seemed to like that process.

So we walked out the front door at 7:15 a.m., and we were at the school and in line with all the other car riders by 7:27 a.m. Traffic flowed better than I thought it would, and we were at the front door at 7:30 a.m.

I looked around and didn't see any teachers or student helpers. Then I remembered that at open house, they said that if you arrive between 7:30 and 7:40 a.m., you would need to drop off your child at the multi-purpose room. The multi-purpose room is a combination of the cafeteria and auditorium. It has cafeteria tables on one side and a stage and big open area on the other side. That's also where they gather all the kids each morning. They separate them by class, then all the kids walk together to their classrooms.

So I drove over to the multi-purpose room and helped Biscuit out of the car. We got his backpack on and his lunchbox in his hand. I gave him a hug and kiss and away he went. He walked up to door and told the teacher who he was and his teacher's name. The teacher looked up and gave me a thumbs-up, and that was that.

I got in the car, watched as a teacher just inside the door led Biscuit to his group, and I drove away. And then the tears started ... both me and Grandmama.

As we drove into the school parking lot, every part of me wanted to park my car, grab Biscuit's hand and lead him into the school where he needed to be. But I knew that as routine-oriented as he is, it would be best if we started the regular routine from day one. It was good for him, but it was terrible for me. It was so hard to know that I was just letting him go.

When school is done for the day, Biscuit will be staying at the school for after-school care. It's a county-sponsored program. They help them with their homework, take them outside to play, give them a snack and plan activities for them. And it's half the cost of what his old day care was going to charge us.

And speaking of his old day care, as we drove by to get to his new school, Biscuit threw his hand up in a wave and said, "GOODBYE, day care!"

I picked up Biscuit after school, and he did not shut his mouth until we forced him to go to bed. He was wide open.

I knew we planned to go out for pizza, plus Biscuit had his piano lesson, so I gave him his bath really early. Then we did piano, then pizza. And seeing as it took FOREVER to get our food, I'm really glad I had planned ahead.

Biscuit's piano lesson went well. He got to play a couple of songs for Grandmama on the pipe organ. He was proud, and so was Grandmama.

It was a crazy, crazy day, but I'm glad it's behind us.