It actually worked out fine--I prefer starting school on a Wednesday because it makes for an easier first week. AND Nate got his new braces in yesterday so I could go buy him new shoes for his first day of school. Might as well tell that story here too. A couple months ago when Nate was fitted for the braces, for the first time he showed an interest in picking out what he wk,anted--blue padding, blue straps, and polka dots on the middle strap. But he called them circles. He has talked about these circles from time to time and he was looking forward to seeing them yesterday. Out come the braces ... no circles. The braces are never, ever what we ordered, and this was no exception. The polka dot strap was missing, and they don't fit well either. Good enough, but they aren't long enough to allow him to grow. So we have to return them, but we'll do that in a couple of months so we can get some wear out of them and still return them under warranty (the orthotist's suggestion). She said she could order us a polka dot strap, or she had a few there--a space picture, puppy dogs, construction machines. Nate wanted circles. She went in the back room to put his toe pads in, and it was taking like 25 minutes and I was getting frustrated. When she came out, she had a polka dot strap! She went back there and took different colored markers to a white strap and made one herself. It was so nice, and Nate loved it.
I took him to the mall for our search for a pair of shoes for these bad boys. I usually leave Nate at home and just take his braces (the one perk I have found for having a child who wears braces), but this was going to be a special shopping trip the evening before school. We stopped and ate and everything. Mama/son date. We went to Dillards and rode the escalator (highlight of the trip for Nate) up to the 3rd floor to the kids shoes, and he immediately spotted the Thomas rain boots. He was so excited. Of course they had one size, and they were too small with braces and too big without braces. Sigh. While I was picking out shoes, Nate took off running. I think the saleslady felt sorry for the kid wearing braces until I couldn't catch up to him. I lost him at one point. I didn't find any shoes there, so we ended up at Journey Kids and I got him some black chucks that he was very uninterested in. He wanted the sparkly bejeweled light up girl shoes. They WERE really cool. We had to go to Target for cat food and I found a pair of blue skater shoes that actually fit and matched his blue braces. He said, "Oh, mama, I want to wear these to Kindergarten!" Score.
While I was trying to get him ready this morning, he and Georgia were not cooperating, and I started to get testy and told him he needed to turn around and let me get his shoes on him or we would be late. He whimpered and said he didn't want to go. I knew he didn't have the words for what he was feeling. I said, "Are you nervous?" He said, "Yes, I'm nervous. I don't want to go to Kindergarten. I like it here at home." So for the 500th time we talked about how cool Kindergarten would be. Finally he said, "Okay, I want to go to Kindergarten now." He looked so handsome, and so grown up.
Georgia and I walked him to his class this morning.
When we got to the class, the teacher showed him where to put his backpack and lunch box and where his seat was. His crayon box was already out waiting for him so I got him set up coloring. The poor little boy beside him was silently crying while trying to color and his mom was torn up. I told Nate to be a good friend to that little boy, and he promised. I asked if he was okay, and he said yes. I told him I loved him and he said I love you too. Then he said bye! I walked out in the hallway and looked back to see if he was panicking or anything, but he was just coloring, and just fine. What a big boy.
You have to ask Nate a lot of questions to get anything out of him. Here is what Nicole, Blake and I have pieced together about his day.
- The only kid's name he remembers is Sam, the boy who sits beside him who was crying.
- His favorite part of the day was lunch.
- He likes his teacher, and the helper.
- His class went to the library, but there were other kids in there so they went back to their class for 30 minutes and went back later.
- He got to go to the gym and see the gym teacher again (we met her last Thursday) but they weren't allowed to run around.
- No one got in trouble today.
- In circle time, he didn't get to sit on the N. (The rug has the alphabet on it. N is his favorite letter.)
- During circle time, they went around and everyone said his or her name, and then everyone repeated it.
- They went on the playground and there is a yellow slide that is not too big or too small.
- There is a little girl who uses a wheelchair, but he can't remember her name. She is nice.
- He sat on the potty. (This is questionable because Blake asked him if he did, and he said maybe, and then later he told me out of the blue he sat on the potty.)
Oh, and an MRI update. Yesterday Dr. Tulipan called my cell phone, but I was in a meeting and missed his call--!!!! He left a voicemail and said he had looked at the scans, and Nate is tethered, which is not unexpected. He will show us the scans next Monday at clinic and we can talk more then, but it looks like it would be fairly easy to untether if needed. So ... that's good, I think. I really hadn't even thought to worry about it being a more complicated, tricky issue. We'll see him at clinic on Monday and hopefully get a plan.
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