A day of firsts

• Aidan's first day in his 3-4year old preschool class.  Big boy!  He didn't even look back.  I left him rattling off a series of things to Mrs. Ginger about his trucks, very important I have no doubt.  Later, when he told me about his day, he referred to the playground, his classroom, and his school as Connor's school--like he was at Connor's school today and he played on Connor's playground, etc.  I'm sure the idea of following his big bro's footsteps is a comforting feeling (no surprises...Connor survived and therefore, so will I).  I pray for Aidan to always know that Jesus loves him, for him to continue to light the world like sunshine, and for his new friendships to grow.
• Today, we saw the first tears from Connor when he pleaded with me to come and get him early from school tomorrow.  "I don't want to go back to kindergarten, Mama.  It's so long!"  My heart ached for him and I wanted so badly to be able to say,"of course, baby, Mama won't make you stay at that long, long school!......"  But, of course, I didn't and I can't.  With as much empathy and compassion I could muster, I told him he'd have to go back, stay the whole day, and we'd have to come up with a solution to help him deal with his feelings.  Oh yeah, his feelings.  In passing tonight, he tells me that when he's at school, he sometimes has feelings of being nervous.  Curious, I asked him nervous about what exactly?  He said that it was different stuff...like being scared of his teacher (not a new thing with him when it comes to new situations)....also, scary stuff like nightmares  (well, this wasn't expected--never had that kind of fear at school).  I pray for Connor to always know that Jesus loves him, for these feelings to disappear, that he will find joy in his classwork and in his friends, that he will have energy, that he would feel the closeness of the Lord protecting him each and every day, and I pray that God will continue to sharpen his mind and shape his character throughout this difficult time.
• Today, for the first time, I got all the way to school to drop off Aidan and I realized that I'd let his lunch at home.  Blerg!  Yep, that was about 30 minutes on the road that I'll never get back.
• This morning was the first time that Aidan climbed out of his crib without our help.  I awoke today to them whispering in their room and later I realized that Aidan's voice was moving around.  I heard Connor say something about don't wake up mama and daddy.  Then I saw bright lights through my eyelids and realized they had flashlights.  When I sat up, I saw their creation--they'd stretched out practically every baby blanket that we owned and placed them end to end, making a road of sorts from our bathroom all the way into their room.  Sweet playing and loving each other's company that early in morning was music to my ears and warmed my heart.
• I am officially, for the first time ever, a member of a fantasy football league.  That's right.  Jump back!  I know practically nothing about the individual football players, but hey, what fun!  Oh, and my team name: Vamp from Savannah. tee hee hee