The Journey to Mei: First Day of School

Wow - how quickly the summer flew by. Before I tell you about the great day, I will openly state that I am not happy to be starting a new school year. Not because we are back in the routine, not because it means getting up earlier, and not even because it is more work getting all of us ready for the day. It's because I looked back over our blog and see Kinnley growing up before my eyes. No, she's not growing up any more quickly than the other three. But I haven't had the luxury of her being my "little girl" for her full seven years. Since we adopted her in April, she has grown through an entire size of clothes, her hair is about 3 inches longer, and maturity wise, she has grown several years. I am amazed and proud of her while mourning at the same time. Ok, I'll move beyond my meloncholy stage and get on with the blog. :)

The night before, the girls had their clothes laid out and backpacks ready for their first day. Kailee asked for me to braid her hair so it could look "scrunchy" on their first day of school. I spent almost half and hour parting her hair and making 13 braids. Mind you, her hair reaches her waist. If my hands are whithered up into a ball, you'll know why! The next morning, I gave a little whisper, all the girls jumped out of bed. Kinnley wanted pigtails and Lainie asked for a side braid. Jaci asked for me to break out the wand and straighten her hair. Did you notice how many times I say "hair" in our blog? Everywhere you look, we have long hair staring back. No wonder Jad keeps his hair 1/4" long! Ha! Before we knew it, we were off and headed to school. The big girls jumped out of the truck and lead the way. Lainie and Kinnley lagged behind a bit, mostly because of their shorter strides. I carried in Kinnley's backpack because it weighed more than her by the time we had all her school supplied stowed. She was a little nervous as we sat and waited for opening assembly. When she is nervous, she has to move. Kinnley rubbed up and down on my arm and rocked back and forth in her chair. After opening assembly, I walked her to her room. She gave me a hug and that was pretty much all she wrote. I promised her I would be back in the afternoon. She said "okay!". Mommy was brave and refused to allow tears to stream down her face. A friend was helping at school that day and promised to check in on her. She was able to snap some great pictures of her for me. When I picked the girls up at school, Kinnley was all smiles. But she did keep saying "Mommy, feet hurt!". She had played outside so hard that she wore blisters on the sides of her feet! Supper and baths came early, and the girls fell into bed. First day of school - we'll call it a success!