Travelingjenny

Today was Grace's first day for staying a full day at school — until 3:00. This means that she got to stay for lunch, quiet time (yeah, right), "focused exploration" in the classroom, and music. She was very excited about all of this, and took off eagerly this morning with her new lunch bag. She did great, and when I arrived to pick her up, she was standing at the front door of the school, saying goodbye to all of the "big kids" and some of the parents by name. It's obvious that she already feels like she owns the place, and it makes me happy that she feels so comfortable at school. She very excitedly told me all about seeing "big foot" tracks during her walk on the island today, and about singing "Head, shoulders, knees and toes" in Spanish during music class. As we left, one of her classmates gave her a big hug, and it struck me that she already has a life separate from me, and experiences that I'll never even hear about. It makes me sad, and very proud, at the same time.