I rejoiced (along with thousands of Fulton County moms) this past Monday as three of my kids were off to school! My rejoicing was partly selfish (Oh my word I am finally down to just ONE to care for constantly all day every day! Surely one will be easier than three!), partly grateful (I finally get to spend uninterrupted time with Alana, which I have been promising her for two years that we would do someday!), and partly amazed (Rihanna has come so far in the past two years, and now she is this beautiful 5 year old girl who can't wait to get to school and meet her new friends, learn to read, and be like her big sister Cate.)
At 7:10am I watched the big yellow bus drive away. At 7:11am, the worries started, and so did the prayers...Lord, help Ri-Ri make new friends easily. Oh, and please help her to NOT pick her nose in class. Remind her to look others in the eye, rather than staring at her feet. Lord, let them say her name right! Rihanna rhymes with Botswana and not banana! I know that girl and if they say her name wrong, Lord, she will never correct them! Lord, show her teacher what an amazing girl she is, but how she must be drawn out and handled with care. Lord, she will spend more hours with dear Ri-Ri now than I do...what if Ri doesn't like her?! What if I don't?!
And I really feel like I "heard" God at that moment (nothing audible, just a feeling in my heart) remind me, "I love that girl much more than you ever thought about loving her, and I assure you that I am more committed to her than you are!" Oh yeah, that's right! Ah, Lord, how do I forget things like that so easily? You formed her in Mama D's womb, protected her life then and many times since! You brought her to our family and you have worked a Rihanna-miracle before our eyes. I think that I can trust you with whether people say her name right!
And of course, all (well, most) of my fears were unwarranted and she had a great first week of school! (She was called Tiana by one boy in her class, but I guess there are worse things than being confused with a Disney princess.) So now the prayers start for next week!
Rihanna was not the only new "schoolie" this week...Will started Georgia Pre-K! (God bless the Lottery!) He too had a great week, plus he has the distinct privilege of doing something the girls never got to do, going to pre-K. We have really played that up, since so often he feels like he has to follow the girls...he finally got a chance to have a FIRST!
And Cate, my dear mini-me, started first grade. She has one great friend from last year's class with her this year, and so we have been thanking God all week for sweet little Elise.
Alana is in Mommy-heaven...she has never in all of her almost two years of life had THIS much attention. Oh, and she is living it up. We have spent much time cuddling, laughing, smiling, singing, and reading together. She is still my baby angel. And she turns two in a week...wow!
I hope that your kids are loving school as much as the Burwells are! And may it continue all year long, right?!