School Adventures Officially Begins!

And so our big school adventure officially kicked off today. Maia couldn't sleep well last night, but that didn't really alarm me because she's always been like that when she's looking forward to something new the following day. Although, I was already armed and ready for a tantrum-filled start brought about by lack of sleep. But the minute the little miss was up I knew we were off to a good start because she was extremely cheerful and ever ready to start the day.

We started by preparing her baon for school. I called the school yesterday and I was told they were going to shorten the class periods from 3 to 2 hours until Friday to give the kids some time to adjust so there's really no need for us to pack heavy lunches. I've been thinking of preparing a weekly menu for Maia's lunch pack but that remained to be just a plan and as expected, I crammed. I aimed for an ambitious lunch pack but ended up with a bag of mini-sandwiches, peeled grapes, a few packs of biscuits and some yogurt drinks instead. Nothing healthy. Nothing fancy. But then again, at least the little miss was all so eager to help me prepare her school stuff. She cut the sandwiches into her preferred shapes (it was a heart-shaped cheese and a flower-shaped hazelnut sandwich)

To keep the spirit of 'stage parenting' alive in our household, both Tibs and I took a day off from our respective jobs to personally send our little miss schoolgirl off and as well as fetch her after school. Being the realistic working parents however, we made it clear that it's all just going to be for today. She seemed to have understood. In fact, she initially refused to be accompanied to school - "wag na kayo sumama, Mommy. kaya ko na 'to". But then the school service operator was apprehensive and wanted us to help ease her adjustment to the new environment so she pleaded for us to be present on day one. And yes being the stage parents that we were, we eagerly complied.

As I've anticipated, it was a chaotic first day rush when we got to the school. I had a happy realization though. I wasn't the stage mother that I thought myself to be. I call that a happy realization because that made me feel (in a nice affirming way) that I'm on the parenting path that I'd really hope to be in. And that's just somewhere in between and nowhere the extremes. I support but I also let be. My kid wasn't clingy at all when I led her to her classroom door. And she couldn't wait for me to leave her. Surprisingly, I didn't feel heartbroken at all when my daughter shooed me away. I felt pride in fact.

I bid her goodbye, blew a few kisses then silently but happily walked out of the preschool building and made my way towards the auditorium where the preschool parents' orientation was going to be held. It was a short orientation (about 30minute I think) and it just gave us an overview of how our preschooler’s day would be like while in school - grading system, feeding programs, PE schedules, class parties, raising and discussing issues with teachers and guidance counselors, and a short open forum where anxious parents were given the venue to voice out their apprehensions and fears out in the open. The teachers were gracious enough to listen and I could personally say they won my trust just by merely affirming to us parents that our kids are their priority (I am that mababaw, see?).

So I guess, having had a smooth experience during our first day has somehow padded the issue of separation anxiety (on Maia and us, most especially). But that doesn't mean I'm finally closing that phase of our school adventure. I'm still bracing myself for next week because I'm thinking that after all this excitement ebbs down, that's when the real idea of separation anxiety will start to work its magic (black magic nga lang). I don't sound very optimistic, do I? Well, I really just wanted to be prepared. Wish us luck!

camwhoring with mom inside the school service
while waiting for other kids