My fears were totally unwarranted

I was troubled and anxious for months over Ashton moving into Kindergarten. He liked preschool and for the most part, he did very well there. But he still got a little fearful every time I left him, even up until the last day.
I was so worried that with a new class, a new teacher and a more structured environment that came right after a long, listless summer that he would just be a mess his first couple days back.
Boy was I wrong, look at this kid, could he be more excited?











Last week, when I tried to prep him for the big day, he just shrugged and mumbled that he didn't want to go. But all that changed when we went and bought all his supplies on Monday night. He excitedly picked out each and every item to match his taste. From the Tiger-striped scissors to the skeleton pencils and Lightening McQueen folder, he was very particular about how individualized he wanted his school box and all its contents to be.
One of my biggest concerns was that he would have trouble waking up in time to make it to school, but the last few mornings he was already out of bed before I popped into his room and I'm meeting much less resistance than expected with his earlier bed time.
Here he is approaching his new classroom the first day and of course I made him stop and pose for pictures:


Now, although I would like to say he walked in without a hitch, this is Ashton we are talking about and as we entered the room the first time I felt the anxiety building in his little chest. I assured him everything was fine and that as soon as he was settled at his desk, I would sit in the back of the room until he felt comfortable enough. We developed a system last year in primary that I waited in the back of the room until he turned around and gave me the thumbs up when he felt like he was brave enough to face it on his own.
I didn't push the issue too much here in the classroom, I told him I would wait as long as it took until he was okay, fully expecting to spend half the morning there. He busily got to work on his worksheet and a shot a few sideways glances my direction to make sure I was still there, but after about 10 minutes, he flashed me a big grin with a thumbs up. 10 minutes!! My little boy is growing up.
Before running out I had to snap one last pic of him with his little set up. The little boy next to him is his friend from the neighborhood who went to preschool last year with him too so I was glad he wouldn't feel all alone.

The house seemed a little quiet all morning while he was gone which is funny because it is Zander who really makes all the noise, but with Ashton at school and David working out of the house more, the house felt so much more empty. But I have found myself enjoying it as I anxiously await their return. I'm liking having a more scheduled house. With our bedtime and mornings more aligned we are able to get to family prayer more often which makes me feel so much better.
But I suppose I shouldn't get carried away so soon, it's only been a few days who knows what bad habits and schedules we might fall back into. But for now, I'm going to try to hold onto this for as long as I can and feel darn good about it. And when the little guy comes home with cute little projects like this, it shouldn't be too hard.