Off To School

In late October of 2005, we brought home a seven-plus-pound baby girl from the hospital.

She was challenging from Day One, with her stomach issues (she hated regular formula and only liked the expensive stuff, Nutramigen) and her squirreliness, and those challenges only changed and became different challenges as she got older.

She was always picked on, never got to do what she wanted to, always the one nobody thought of. Poor girl. Of course she wasn't, but that was her perception.

Yvie got to do all the fun stuff while young Kennedy could only watch. One of the worst days of her life - if she could recall them, she'd surely tell you it was this - was when Yvie went to kindergarten.

Yvie got the fun stuff like kindergarten and Kennedy got nothing but boring preschool.

No consoling could do the trick. And it seemed time just didn't move fast enough for Kennedy.

"When am I going to be five?" she asked me constantly after dropping Yvie off at school.

She's not five yet, won't be for another two months, but she's ready for kindergarten.

Today, Kennedy starts school. No longer will she be picked on. No longer will sissy get to do things she doesn't get to do. All day, every day, Kennedy will be in school... well, every day for three hours and 21 minutes.

When she realizes Yvie gets to spend three hours longer at school than she does, Kennedy may feel picked on once more, may start to ask if she could stay longer and might get upset when she hears the answer.

Did I mention she's been challenging?