Alice // Your first day of school

Dear Alice,

It's been a long time since I wrote you a little letter on here! Too long really. But today was the day we had been waiting for, for over a year. Today, you started school for the first time. You have been so excited to start. You were jumping up and down with joy when we picked out your school uniform at the weekend! And you refused to take off your shiny new school shoes last night before bed because you just couldn't wait.

Part of me was kind of dreading the phone call to say a school place had come up. We didn't receive any of the 6 schools we had put down on the form last year, and decided to turn down the only place you had gotten because it was too far away. We were offered a closer school, which we accepted and then quickly turned down again after viewing it. It wasn't the right school for you. We couldn't send you there. It just wasn't a good fit. So we waited, and we waited for one of our two other choices to come up.

We watched the school children pass our house in the mornings on their way to school, which we sat in our jim jams, cereal still in our hands. We saw the pictures of friends children on the internet, all dressed up, ready for their first days. And we waited. I did my best to home educate you, and we had a lot of fun. I began to see you being home a little longer as a blessing really. To get to spend more time with you, for Thomas to bond with you more. And you started to learn! We did letters and numbers and shapes and colours. You can almost read yourself now!

But each morning as we sat in our front room, breakfast on our laps, watching the school children walking past, chatting excitedly about school, you would ask me the same question. When were you going to school? And it kind of broke my heart a little. Because I felt that you were missing out.

So when we got the call that a place at our first choice school had come up, I was so excited and thrilled for you! You have not stopped talking about school this week, and were up and dressed in your slightly too big uniform at 7am this morning!!

I walked you all the way to the school office, your new shoes clicking away on the pavement. I bent down and tried to straighten out your newly cut fringe you had given yourself yesterday (I know, Shock horror! The day before school, she cuts her hair. Good timing right?!) and I walked you to your classroom.

I'd like to say we had a big cuddle and you told me you would miss me and all that, but honestly, you just ran off into the group of children and started introducing yourself. So I had a little chat with the teacher and then just sort of waved goodbye to you across the room! You looked so happy and excited and were chatting away when I left you that I didn't even feel sad.

The house is very quiet without you, and I already can't wait to pick you up. But more than anything, I am just so happy and excited for you to finally be in school!

I'm so proud of you Alice.

Now, please don't make me have to keep seeing the headteacher when I pick you up every day, like I did at nursery!! Haha!

xxxx