William's first day of school

William's first day of school is tomorrow!

Okay, it's just a church playschool, which is politically correct code for "Mother's Day Out," and it's just one day a week from 9 to 2:30. But still! He starts school tomorrow!

We attended the open house about two weeks ago, checked out the classroom, met his teacher and received our copy of the rules...er, the handbook. It looks like a great place, and William immediately took to all the toys. David met the executive director and told her the story of the time he and his little friend freaked everyone out in nursery school at that very same church by arranging their own after-school playdate without telling anyone's mom. David's mom showed up to pick up her son, and he wasn't there, and I'm reasonably sure that she completely freaked out because that is precisely what I would have done, except that I probably would have also passed out from a massive bout of hyperventilating. Obviously everything turned out okay, and David had just tagged along with his friend's carpool and was safely at his home. So I think Diane went to the little friend's house and retrieved her son. (Man, I wonder if Diane ever wondered if it would be ridiculous to ground a four year old?)

But anyway, back to William. I've been working on all the stuff that I have to send with him ever since the open house. And it was quite a list, surprisingly. I have to send...deep breath...a bag with a crib sheet, a blanket, a change of clothes, four diapers, a container of wipes, a lovey (which for William, is Natty, the soft green frog toy that I bought in Natchez last summer), a binky for naptime, two sippy cups and a lunch. The playschool has pretty rigid rules about what parents must send in their children's lunchbox, too. I have to provide a dairy, two veggies and/or fruits, a protein and a bread product. Dessert is optional, naturally. I have to make sure the lunchbox has coldpacks to keep everything cool until lunchtime, too. And everything has to be labeled. So I acquired a new crib sheet, blanket, lunchbox and a back-up lovey to send to school with my son. (William does not realize that the Natty he will have at school is not the original Natty, but I couldn't take the chance of sending the original to school and having him get lost. Natty is very important to our night-night routine, and no way was I going to jeopardize that.) I hunched over the list provided in the handbook and packed the bag this evening. Then I put as much of the lunch together as I could. Now I just need to finish packing the lunchbox tomorrow morning with all the cold stuff and then...and this is the tricky part...remember to put it all in the car with us before we leave for school.

For the record, William's first official school lunch will include the following: blueberry Yobaby yogurt, whole-wheat Ritz crackers, a cup of diced peaches and a small container of cooked carrots. And milk.

I was telling William in Target on Friday that in just a few years, we'll be shopping for real school supplies. We'll be shopping for a big sturdy backpack. We'll be stocking up on crayons, colored pencils, erasers, glue sticks, wide-ruled notebooks and No. 2 pencils. We'll be talking about homework and worksheets and sitting quietly and raising your hand in class. But I don't like to think too much about that, because that makes me sort of weepy. I'm not ready to think about my little guy being ready for real school. I'm already sort of skittish about sending him off to playschool tomorrow! But I think he'll have a good time. It'll be a good experience for him, and it'll give me time to attend my study group at church and run a few errands afterward. That's what I'm telling myself.

But I'm glad we're living in an era of cellphones. So they can call me if William has trouble at school. Not that I expect him to, but y'all know me: I'm a worrier. Best to be prepared for the worst.