first day of school

Oh, the tears! The emotional outbursts! No, it wasn't me. I was too busy trying to calm Liam down to get emotional myself. He started the day off on the completely wrong foot by yelling as he came down the stairs that Max made too much noise last night, so Liam couldn't get to sleep, so he didn't get enough sleep, so how could he be expected to make good choices and have a good day at school? He was very distressed about that. Things got a little better while we made breakfast and packed his lunch, then he started up again, this time about whether or not he could bring a toy to school. We told him that the school handbook said no, but he insisted that he saw older kids do it all the time (which is probably true; there's a program at daycare where the older kids get before and after school care, and the daycare transports them to school, so Liam has had plenty of opportunity to observe the older kids) and don't get in trouble. The resulting fit was so massive that it threatened to make him late for school, but at the last minute I came up with a solution. We called daycare and talked to Miss T., one of the teachers, who has a son who is just going into first grade at Liam's new school, and agreed to abide by whatever she said regarding the toys. She told Liam that the teachers take the toys away and put them in a box, and that her son lost a few toys that way last year, so Liam reluctantly agreed to leave his beloved jet at home, but only under the condition that we bring it with us when we pick him up this afternoon. Let's hope that was the most traumatic thing that happens to him all day!


So Mike walked him to school, and he seemed fine in line with his classmates. As it turns out, his good buddy/frenemy T.R. is in his class. T.R. was feeling VERY shy and upset when he joined the line, so Mike suggested that Liam go to the back of the line to talk to T.R. and make him feel better. It turned out to be a very good thing, and both of the boys visibly relaxed at the idea of having someone familiar to talk to. I know I'll be thinking about Liam all day and hoping his school day is going well, but it's good to know that at least he'll have someone he knows with him, and they can help each other navigate this wonderful new adventure. Aaaand ... now I'm getting emotional.