Musing #1: First Day of School
WHATS THIS?! The Grumpy Nerd Dad has started a THIRD series on his page?! What, is he crazy?! Well, the answer is simple reader: yes. I am crazy. Insane as a matter of fact! The words you read are that of a complete lunatic. How fortunate for you!
Nah, I literally decided to write this like five minutes ago as I got my daughter ready for her very first day of school. I’ve been thinking about what to do with the topics I want to write about that don’t really fall between my survival guide and my story times. So I figured I could just do a random post about what’s on my mind. A “musing” if you will. So this is my first stab at my musing in regards to my daughters first day of school. Keep in mind that these are going to be a “in the moment” kind of things, so there probably won’t be any of my doodles in them (I know, you’re heartbroken) or at least they’ll be used sparingly since they take me a silly amount of time to produce. But anyways, please enjoy my musings.
It really didn’t hit me too hard this morning. I asked my little Princess what she wanted for her special first day of school breakfast, and she said pancakes. Well this being the era of Instagram and stuff, I had to get creative!
Er, I just realized that my “1” is backwards. I SWEAR I KNOW MY NUMBERS! The first day of preschool is for Princess, NOT for me! Also, you can see my socked foot in the bottom left corner. This is a historic moment for it shall be the only time y’all get an actual picture of the Grumpy Nerd Dad. Actual proof that I am a real dude! All hail the Grumpy Nerd Toe!
So it was fine for a while. My little girl ate her breakfast, got to pick out her “first day of school” outfit, got her hair done, and we were off. She was so excited that it was hard not to get excited too. She started saying that daddy was dropping her off at work just like momma and that she was going to make new friends and so forth. It was really freaking cute dang it! But then the moment came: drop off. As she climbed out of the car to go with her teacher, she waved goodbye and then she was off. My little girl was away from me for the first time since before I was a stay at home dad. I had to leave her with a complete stranger and trust them to take care of her. Like, I know they do this for a living and that they know what they are doing, but gosh darn it she’s my baby! She’s been by my side everyday asking to play hide and go seek, have a tea party, eat some Dino-nuggets (the best form of chicken nuggets and I will fight you if you disagree), and to read her stories before nap time. It was like a part of me was waving bye to me today.
Now given that preschool is only for a few hours a day and she’s still back by lunch/nap time, BUT STILL, THE FEELS WERE SUPER INTENSE! And the hard part was that she was so happy to do it. Don’t get me wrong, it would have been a million times harder if she didn’t want to go and was kicking and screaming. I’m super relieved that she was excited and left without even a fuss. But then I was just sitting there like “I’M NOT HANDLING THIS WELL! GET BACK HERE AND MISS ME DANGIT!”
It’s just hard because it seems like only a few weeks ago my wife and I were bringing her home for the first time from the hospital. I distinctly remember changing my first poopie diaper, the first time I gave her a bath, her first steps, first time she laughed, I remember it all like it JUST happened! And now she’s off to school not only eager but more ready than I thought I was. When the heck did she get so big?
My father-in-law joked with me when we told him that she was going to school saying “well, next thing you know, she’ll be waving bye to you from college!” And yeah, funny at the time, but now that strikes home! They get so big so fast. It all goes by in a blink. One moment you’re cradling your baby as she naps, the next she’s waving bye to you as she runs inside her school.
Being a parent is emotional work yo.
But hey, I’m not totally alone. Rex was nice enough to snap me out of it as I sat in the parking lot by yelling for a banana. Well, more like roared for a banana. So at least I get a bit more time with him before he’s off like his sister. He’s not much of a conversationalist like Princess, but he still likes to play hide and go seek with me so I think I’ll be okay.
So to wrap up this emotional mopey post, cherish every moment with your kids y’all. They grow up so fast. Now Princess is only 3, so I use grow up in a poetic sense, but y’know what I mean!
Anyways, anyone else go through the “first day of school” blues? Let me know what gets you through it and how you cope. Feel free to like or comment below, look me up on Instagram if you need more Grumpy Nerd Dad in your life, and, until next time: stay classy, stay safe, and, above all else,
Stay grumpy.
The Grumpy Nerd Dad 