Monday, August 18, 2008

Day 1

I woke Ace up at 7 and gave him big hugs and kisses. Out the door by 7:45, in front of the school, with traffic, around 8:05.















(His class is mostly girls. I had to put him in an outfit that said "Hey ladies, check out these guns.)

I hustled him inside, put him down on his canes, and he trotted, happy as you please, right into the classroom into the waiting arms of the teachers and volunteers.



















(Backpack. On a 2 year old. Cutest thing ever.)

I gave him lots of hugs and kisses and told him he'd be staying here with Ms. L and Ms. C for a little while and that I'd be back to pick him up in a few hours. He was underwhelmed by my affection, preferring instead to concentrate on the plethora of nearby toys.

I tore myself away and commenced to sobbing in the hallway, sure that he would never forgive me and that I was abandoning him AGAIN. I managed to suppress my awful memories of abandoning him in the NICU as Ms. L closed the door to their classroom.















Not 3 minutes later, I heard the wail indicating that Ace was NOT happy. Some other child must have touched him, or made a sound, or otherwise made themselves known. The wail ended a few seconds later and when I peeked through the window in the door, I saw Ace being held by one of the volunteers. (Each room has 2 volunteers.) There he sat for the next 20 minutes, as quiet as he could be.

I managed to tear myself away at about 8:45, knowing I'd be late to meet Nicole at Broad Street Bakery. Nicole had dropped her baby off at Mother's Morning Out for the first time and we were both desperately in need of bacon therapy. So, eat bacon (and other inconsequential things) we did, and drink a few cups of coffee, and make our ways upstairs to check out Lemuria and drool over their tons and tons of books, and discuss the merits of ylang-ylang. Thank you, Nicole. I needed ALL of that.

We parted ways, Nicole on her way to pick her kid up from MMO, and me on my way to Lane Bryant to pick up some new underwear. (Whoa, surprise TMI!) After blowing some cash, I picked up a paper and a Sprite Zero and went back to Ace's school to listen to 93.9's 90's lunch hour and do the crossword.

Promptly at 1 (15 minutes before school ended), I walked into the school to wait "patiently" in the hall for school to be over. Promptly at 1:02, I heard Ace wailing. It ended shortly thereafter.

I peeked in through the window a few minutes later and Ms. L told me to come on in. Ace was sitting in her lap, and when he finally saw me and saw that I was there to save him, he said "Hey mama! Hey gorgeous! Hey mama! Pick ME up!" I obliged. He gave me a hug, then reached desperately for the fan behind me. SO. MANY. BUTTONS.

Ms. C told me that he'd had a good day - a few moments of crankiness but overall very good. She said that he'd shared his toys during gym time (recess). Ms. L said she saw what I was talking about with regards to his anxiousness around other children, but she didn't think that it was anything that couldn't be overcome. Overall, they said, he had a pretty good day. They also said that he was very polite - lots of "thank you"s and "bless you"s and "pick me up"s.

Despite their protests to the contrary, I could tell that Ace had been crying quite a bit, which made me feel like a grade A schmendrick. His eyes were all puffy and he just looked exhausted.















It took some effort to keep him awake on the way home, but I managed, and he conked OUT right after taking his pill and drinking some water.

A good first day. The real test will be tomorrow, when he knows where he's going and what the day entails. We'll see how he deals then.

Thank you all for the prayers and support and calls and e-mails and comments and wishes and everything. Y'all are seriously the bestest.

19 comments:

dhcoop said...

Darlin, I thought about you all day. Give it time and he'll be BEGGING you to take him to school!

It sounds like you have him in a good place with good people and that's important.

((((Ace & Stacey)))

You are on my mind and in my heart.

Sharon said...

OK, first, Ace looks so GROWN UP in these pictures!! What the heck?! Did he age overnight?!

Secondly, I'm impressed. I don't think I could have done it. You're a strong woman. ;)

Sorry if this has already been said, but how many days a week will Ace be going?

Mrs.H said...

thanks for sharing y'all's day with us. I pray that Ace will look forward to the "newness" of it and learn that other kids are really cool to hang out with sometimes.

Stacey said...

Sharon - 4 days a week, 5 hours a day.

Dr. Wifey said...

i predict he will have a girlfriend by the end of the week :)

he is soooo cute!

watercolordaisy said...

And he looks so cute!!!!!!!!!!!!

watercolordaisy said...

hmmm... my last post is missing.... user error I am sure....

Thought about you and Ace all day. Continuing prayers you both settle in and learn new things. You aren't a shmuck or whatever that term was you used. You are helping little one find his wings. And it isn't easy. hugs sweetie!!!!

Nicole Bradshaw said...

Anytime, sweets! Bacon therapy . . . . aaaaah!

Jen said...

Ok, First, I love the pics of Ace-Man at his first day of school.. You are a SWEET momma! AND, every day it will get easier and easier, I am sure. I pray for you both to have the strength :) Much love was going your way today!

And the pic of ACe in the tub, that is just the cutest pic ever! You are a darn good photog! :)

Melinda said...

Sorry I couldn't get in touch. They're monitoring us at work and it was hard enough just sneaking peaks at the blog to get updates.

Dude! He is soooooooo adorable with his little backpack. and did you notice that the look on the hot one's face. He's definitely a mac daddy in the making.

Shiksa on the move said...

How adorable is he with his backpack and his muscle t-shirt. The girls will be banging down your door!

Katy said...

This is SO wonderful for him--even if the beginning is hard. I kind of think that Ace's first two years were like Charlie's--star of the family, not a lot kids his age around. This will be a wonderful opportunity for him to be with his peers.

Supermom said...

Hope day two goes even better!

Susan said...

You're an awesome mom. Good luck with day 2!

mayberry said...

It looks and sounds like a great school. I hope that the week continue to goes well for you and Ace. You're doing a good thing mama.

From the Doghouse said...

It'll take some time to adjust from having center stage all to yourself to having to share it with other people, but he'll be fine. You've done a great job with him and it will show. It already has.

black betty said...

i am so pumped! ace did GREAT!!! the diva did so much worse than that!!! YAH!!!! woo-hoo!!!!

love ya...

HEATHER said...

I thought about you several times yesterday and wondered how precious boy was doing.
Hopefully he didn't protest too much this morning. Hugs!

Jacolyn said...

OMG!!! He is too cute for words!!! Way to go Ace and Way to go Mama!