Preschool

Preschool - The class of 2023,

(24 June, 2023)

The preschool was excited; the schoolchildren and their siblings ran around in circles. Parents were busy taking photos while chatting, and the grandparents were looking for somewhere to sit. Music played with some teachers dancing with little tots, while others welcomed us all for the end-of-year concert.

The class of 2023 gathered in the backyard, looking for their wee friend to sit beside; the smell of pizza, rain clouds, and freshly washed hair waved through the air. The children sang songs in Spanish, Polish and English, but the song that made all the parents smile from ear to ear was "You've Got a Friend in Me" by Randy S Newman. Their little faces lit up, and their hand gestures accompanied the lyrics as they sang with passion, joy and significant volume, so much so that their songs echoed over the walls into the neighbourhood beyond.

"You've got a friend in me

You've got a friend in me

When the road looks rough ahead

And you're miles and miles

From your nice warm bed

You just remember what your old pal said

Boy, you've got a friend in me

Yeah, you've got a friend in me"

I wasn't sad; there were no tears. I held it together; I was so proud of my daughter, how much she had grown, how happy she was; I just thought, look at my little miracle, my little light. Later in the afternoon, we had cake and celebrations as a family; the house was full of laughter and no tears or sadness. After the children were in bed, I walked into the kitchen, and as I picked up her pink Paw Patrol school bag to take her lunch bag and change of clothes out, it hit me: this was the last time I would do this for preschool. And there it was, a flood of tears. It was the end of one chapter.

I paged through the hand-crafted folder the teachers put together for each student. It contained comments and milestones completed over the year, filled with drawings, photos, handprints, arts and crafts, science experiments and more. A few small stones, hair clips, hair ties with elephants, clouds, butterflies and rainbows fell out of the bag. A few notes had attempted to write her name, which she can do now; I thought, how long have they been stuffed to the bottom? Her magical world fell around my feet, and I took a moment to breathe it all in. As her belongings dropped to the ground, it was like a motion picture movie projected images of the preschool story and the journey we just travelled through on the walls around me.

The image of her little hand waving goodbye to me as she entered the preschool, followed by her running to me after school as if she hadn't seen me in a year when it was only a few hours before I dropped her off, played over and over.

I saw myself driving quickly over the country roads to fetch the "show and tell toy" Buzz Lightyear that I had forgotten one Friday morning. I dropped it off just in time; I felt like I had just won the World Cup! Old buzz, and I did go to infinity and beyond.

The car trips to school are full of songs, laughs, tears and joy. Rainbows, unicorns and butterflies have a new meaning to me, a unique enchantment. I wondered if she would still bring home drawings, notes, and flowers for me in primary school.

Like Goldilocks in The Three Bears, it took three schools to find the right preschool. I didn't realise this would or could happen. Nobody tells you that the school might not work out for you; at least nobody told me. A child might throttle your child and punch them, and a dog that belongs to the owners might run out and knock her to the ground with no recourse. The non-stop sickness, from viral to bacterial, balancing it all with work and life. The tears, the fear, the tumbles and falls. All these memories flooded my senses.

They also don't tell you that you will weather all the storms and the right school will be excellent. The owners of the right school will communicate with you; the teachers love and care for the children. And, you will look back and remember how you overcame it together, how much they have grown and learnt.

The movie flickered toward the end with the vision of our toddler, standing at the gate on her first day with her hooded Mickey Mouse jumper on, looking and feeling as scared as I did and transforming before our eyes into a little girl, growing in confidence,

understanding who she is more every day.

What a journey, my Abigail. Thank you for showing me the meaning of rainbows and unicorns; that magic is everywhere. Thank you for reminding me what it is to be curious, and indeed the essence of bravery and strength, and to always play music as loud as you want and sing at the top of your lungs because it's "your style".

I know the next chapter will be full of many stories and adventures!

Kind regards,

Working from Hawaii