PRESCHOOL DAYS

Jane goes to preschool today. She has LOVED it from the very first day! Most mornings, she takes me by the hand & leads me down the hallway to her classroom to see "Miss Jeannie" & "Miss Cathy." Without any hesitation, she gets right down to the business of being a two year old -- playing! No clinginess. No tears. No "I want my Mommy!" She has "cooking" to do in the plastic kitchen, legos to build, and puzzles to do...

More than that, she has friends to hang out with -- Jesse & Andrew & Lucy & Jonah. Each child is so unique, & Jane seems to love them all equally well. When I ask her on the way to school who she's going to play with, she happily recites the litany of all her friends' names -- in no particular order. She is glad to see them all!

School has provided Jane with lots of new opportunities; but by far her favorites have been playing on the playground & painting.

On sunny days, Jane's class spends lots of time swinging & sliding & climbing on the pint-sized play equipment. Jane loves the little cars that she can "drive." Here, I can see that Jane is learning to take turns & share -- big lessons for a little girl!

Last Tuesday when I came to pick Jane up from school, she proudly showed me an ENORMOUS picture she'd made that day. It had red scribbles all over it and a big blotch of yellow paint in the corner. "The sun!!" she told me with a big grin. A preschool masterpiece from a tiny Picasso!

I get so much joy from being with these little ones, Lord! It's so surprising to me that, at 50 years old with my own children grown up, I get to enjoy the sweet, simple moments of preschool again. What a gift to me!...

I AM SO GRATEFUL!!!

Written 5/4/06