Portrait of a First Grader

What a difference a year makes! Last year at this time, Ron and I had a very reluctant kindergartener on our hands. We literally had to bodily remove the child from our car and carry her crying to her classroom. Not exactly the morning I had envisioned of snapping first day of school photos and watching my 5 year old bound off happily into her classroom.

But this year... oh this year! Ron and I had a, dare I say it, eager, happy first-born first-grader! What a joy to be able to snap first-day-of-first-grade photos! What a wonder to walk a happy child down the hall to her classroom! What a blessing to be able to plant a kiss good-by atop her head, knowing she was glad to be in school and under the tutelage of warm teachers. Yes, what a difference a year makes!

Ron and I only had one real concern this morning as we pulled out of the school parking lot. McKenna was placed at the end desk in a configuration of 8 desks making up a rectangle. To her right sat a boy from her kindergarten class who was a known trouble-maker, and the desk across from her was unoccupied. McKenna had mentioned to me on Friday that she was a bit concerned about having to sit next to this boy, and I was ready to give her teacher a call and ask her to move McKenna to another spot. On further discussion, McKenna agreed to give her seating assignment a try for a few days, and if it wasn't working out, I would contact her teacher. Well, as Ron and I drove down the road toward home, we offered up a prayer for McKenna's first day, and asked that the Lord would work out the seating situation.

WELL! Come this afternoon as a brightly smiling 6 year old clambered into my car in the pick-up line, I could see that she had had a wonderful day. After telling me how much she liked her teachers ("Mrs. Guidara is nice, but the assistant Mrs. Jones is really, REALLY nice") and what a great day she had, I broached the subject of how sitting next to her old classmate went. She replied that it wasn't bad, because she got moved to a new desk. Turns out there was a little left-handed girl who was having trouble writing, as she was cramped, so McKenna's teacher had her swap desks with McKenna! She is now smack-dab between 2 nice boys and across from a girl from her kindergarten class!

What a comfort to know that even when we can't be with McKenna and "micro-manage" details of her life (which we really shouldn't anyway), her Heavenly Father is watching over her and caring for her in ways big and small. Even down to where she sits!

Around the dinner table, there were no tears, as last year, about not wanting to return to school tomorrow. Just happily recounted details of a fun first-day back at school. Yes, a year can make all the difference.