Blink and he’s a schoolboy

Five minutes ago, or so it seems, we brought a baby home from the hospital. I remember the queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach as we walked out of the hospital doors. A mixture of joy at this newborn life, and sheer terror that we would break him.

Blink. Five years went by.

We didn’t break him. We did just fine. Somehow that little baby is starting school tomorrow. His brand new Skylanders backpack sits there ready and waiting for him tomorrow morning.

He went to bed earlier excited about tomorrow and not in the least bit nervous. It seems the nerves are all mine tonight. I’m thinking back on my own first day of school. I remember it as a series of scenes. Sitting at my desk in the big classroom…Enjoying listening to the teacher…Rolling some brand new strips of plasticine into a ball…Standing up and putting my coat on because I figured it must be home time at this stage..The teacher asking me where I thought I was going…Sitting back down and wondering when I would get to go home…Realising that this place was going to be different to playschool…

I wonder what my son will remember in years to come about his first day of school. I hope his are good memories. I hope he likes his teacher. I hope he makes some new friends. I hope he’s kind to the other kids and I hope they’re kind to him. I hope he stands up for himself if he needs to, but more than that I hope he doesn’t need to. Mostly I just hope he’s happy there.

So that’s it, when we wake up tomorrow morning, we’ll have a schoolboy in our house. A baby no more.