The journey begins....new shoes, combed hair and a book bag of supplies. Maybe, like my child, yours wears a necklace shaped like a big yellow pencil dangling from red yarn or maybe she has a red school house pinned to her lapel that tells all her pertinent information: name, class, teacher, etc.. . Your child seemed so big the day before school was to begin, ready and capable to start out in this exciting new world of learning. She knows how to write her name, and she knows all of her numbers and colors. She even knows her letters, each and every one. Surely, she will be fine at school all day without you. She will likely even excel!

So, how is it that today, on the first day of school, at this bus stop of school children, your child suddenly looks so fragile and small! You try to remain calm and talk to the other parents. You act as though you are sure you are right to be putting your baby on a bus full of strangers. When here comes the biggest yellow, roaring machine you have ever seen, and it means to scoop up your beautiful little angel and carry her away. When suddenly, amid tears (oops, those are yours), you realize your child is about to climb aboard. You steal a quick hug and kiss and a snapshot for a memory book. The next thing you know your little kindergartner is waving to you from a window in the belly of the beast. Your stomach tightens up as the bus pulls away from the stop, and you wonder how you will make it though the day without her. You also can't help but wonder how much fun she will have!

It is such a remarkable day, the first day of school, for your child and for you.....full of wonder and awe. Watching them step back off the bus at the end of that first day and hearing the endless chatter of excitement over the days events is priceless. Cherish it. No matter how many times you get to experience it, the "first" day is always special.

My fourth child will soon have her first day, and I look forward to it with joy. I will try to remember as she and her little brother grow toward their "firsts" that the fear we often feel for our children is rarely theirs and almost always ours alone and to always help them find their happiness.

Learn more about this author, Raleigh Zacharias.
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