Kindergarten

First I have to say that I did not go to Kindergarten, my mother kept her kids at home with her for as long as possible.  And most parents do not realize that Kindergarten is not mandatory in the State of California, so I did not have to send her to school this year.  She also is not turning 5 until November, so she barely made the cut off for this year.  With all that said, after much deliberation and debate, we made the decision that she would benefit from Kindergarten.  Taaa Daaa!!!  Gosh, we parents have such hard decisions to make, and God doesn’t even send them with a manual.  I really believe each child should come with their own manual, but that is a blog for a different day.  There are a number of people around me who home-school or use a Charter school to educate their children, and I have noticed that they are very vocal about what is wrong with the public education system in their opinions…now opinions are like a**holes, everyone has one and everyone thinks everyone else’s stinks!  Now first I appreciate that you feel very strongly about the public education system and home schooling, but I don’t care!  I am not a teacher, so in my opinion I am not qualified to teach my children at home, especially in elementary school.  I have no problem if you want to teach your kids at home, but don’t push your junk on me!  This being said…I just took my Casey-bug to her very first day of Kindergarten this morning!

This child woke me at 6 am this morning, then again at 7 am wanting to know if it was time for her to go to Kindergarten.  I almost ate her before we even got there.  So I get up and get Ryan…she is following me everywhere!  We picked out her outfit last night and I take her downstairs and get her meds into her before I start on her hair and clothes and lunch.  We get her in her clothes and she watches tv while I brush out her hair and braid it.  Her socks go on and then I can get her breakfast and pack her lunch, holy crap I am packing a lunch!  I check to make sure that I have written her name on everything…including each shoe, pack her backpack, and watch as Aunt Angie takes pictures.  As I see the pictures I start to cry…yes I am a blubbering idiot!  All I can see is my baby girl with tubes and leads coming off her with her batman glasses on.  OHMYFREAKINGGOSH!!!!  Who is this little girl in the pictures?

Let me explain a little…my little girl was dreamed about by both my husband and I long before we met, we each had a name in mind, and we loved her more than life itself before we even met her.  Cassiopia Camilla; which means “clever virgin”, she is named after a constellation and her grandmother, and we call her Casey.  When she was born she was taken from me almost immediately…I didn’t get her back for 2 weeks.  The day after she was born she was taken by ambulance to Loma Linda Children’s Hospital, where she stayed for that 2 week period.  In the NICU and because of the federal newborn screening it was discovered that my little Casey had Congenital Hypothyroidism.  Before the newborn screening this was the leading cause of Mental Retardation in children…my little Casey was on medication within 8 days of birth…with no long term effects.  She takes her medication every morning, as she has done since this was discovered.  Because of the wonderful doctors there, we have a healthy, happy, and very intelligent 4 ½ year old girl.  This is all we were seeing this morning as she jumped around happily waiting for me to drive her to school…an under 6 pound girl being fed and nourished with tubes as she layed under the UV light in the NICU at Loma Linda.

So here I sit waiting ever patiently for 12:25 to arrive, thinking about my baby girl…I am sure she is fine, but I wonder if she is happy and being a good girl.  I remember when she turned 1 and 2 and 3 and 4…I remember taking her to Los Angeles to see the agent that she is still with…I remember the night we brought her home…I remember when she picked Pooh…I remember when she poked Ryan in my belly because he wouldn’t stop kicking her while she was sitting on my lap.  So here is to you Casey!  You are a big brave kindergarten girl!!

Now off I go to sob quietly into my pillow…