J's 1st day in new school

Weeks before we moved, I have been preempting J about starting in a new school; that it is the school with the big playground; there's bicycles that he can ride; and he have to take the schoolbus by himself. I guess I must have repeated it too often that one day, he said "Mummy! Why do you keep telling me? That day you say already. Now you say again".

When the day came, he excitedly put on his uniform and school shoes and kept asking impatiently when the school bus will come. When it is time to go down to wait for his school bus, I told my helper to bring him instead of me for I fear that he would be reluctant to board the bus by himself if I were with him. In the end, I couldn't resist the urge to be with him on his 1st solo school bus trip.

While waiting at the pick up point, he kept asking anxiously why the bus is taking such a long time and what if he doesn't know where to alight (cause he thinks he is taking a public bus and he needs to alight at a particular bus stop).

Finally, we caught sight of the bus, J quickly said "Bye, Mummy" and boarded the bus. For a minute, I was stunned. Is that my son who is so clingy to me? You mean, he boarded the bus without any struggle? No crying? No wailing? My helper and I looked at each other in disbelief.

After J boarded the bus, K and I followed behind the bus to school. We saw J alighting from the bus and followed the other students to the hall. As J joined the school in mid-term, he was unfamiliar with his new classmates. Nontheless, he just followed the crowd and sat down for assembly. So far, so good. As I peep from behind the glass door, I felt a sense of pride that he is doing so well. He has outdone himself and I felt embarassed that I've belittled him. Knowing that he is coping well, we headed home.

When it was time to pick J back, I waited anxiously at the pick up point. When J alighted, he had a smirk on his face. It was a proud moment for him; having accomplish a big task. At that moment, I felt very proud of him too