First day of school!

Yesterday was Bryan's first day of kindergarten at his new school! He said he was a little nervous, but he was fine once he got to his classroom. He got to play on the playground twice, and he got to all the way to three monkey bars. He was a little disappointed that he didn't get to play on the computers yet, but he was excited about going back today because he was going to paint in art class.

And how did my first day of Bryan's kindergarten go? Mine was a little more emotional. I didn't cry in the classroom, but I did start to tear up as I waited by the clinic to drop off Bryan's EpiPen and Food Allergy Action Plan. As much as Bryan's allergies dominate my thinking, I still don't like thinking about what could happen.

Not that I REALLY think that anything is going to happen. We got a chance to meet with Bryan's teacher before school started, and I really do think that Mrs. S is going to take care of him. Our conversation went well, and she really seemed concerned about making sure that Bryan stays safe in her classroom. She even sent home a label from the soap that they use in their classroom to make sure that Bryan could use it, which made me feel good that she is going to be proactive about his allergies.

That said, my heart does jump a little every time the phone rings, just in case it is someone from the school. I kind of wonder how long that anxiety is going to last, or if it is even ever going to go away. Because even though I do think Bryan will be okay- I still don't like thinking about what could happen.

Countdown to Kindergarten

Three weeks. Twenty-one days. It sounds like a long time, but then suddenly, it doesn't.

We have three weeks before Bryan starts kindergarten. This is supposed to be an exciting time- getting ready to start at a new school with a new teacher, new classroom, new friends, new everything. Which unfortunately for me, is kind of the scary part. I will admit that I am by nature an introvert, and I think that Bryan has inherited that characteristic from me. So any sort of new situation tends to be a bit overwhelming anyway from that perspective. My main concern, however, is how to handle and negotiate Bryan's food allergies in this new situation.

We met with the Assistant Principal of the school back in April, mainly to give the school advance notice of the issue and to try to gauge how our concerns would be addressed, and overall, we felt pretty good about the meeting. The school has had students with food allergies before, but none with quite the severity of Bryan's. However, we discussed Bryan's allergies and related issues at length, and the Assistant Principal seemed willing to work with us to feel comfortable about enrolling Bryan at the school. He actually followed up with me recently, and was hoping to be able to arrange a meeting for us with Bryan's teacher before school starts. That definitely made me feel better- that he not only was keeping us in mind, but actively trying to work with us to make the transition a successful one.

Do I feel better? Yes. Do I feel prepared? Not even a little bit. To be honest, I don't know that I will ever feel completely prepared when it comes to putting Bryan in a new situation. But I guess I have three weeks to try to get there.