Today Simon became an upperclassman at his preschool. It’s hard to believe that he began KIP three years ago, but it’s true. What’s even harder to wrap my head around is that many of his cohort are starting kindergarten this year. Simon misses that mark by 16 days—16 short days that bring me the gift of a whole extra year to enjoy having Simon at home with me.
We also enjoyed the gift of a low-stress launch. We knew the first year would be rough at first, and it was. We didn’t know the second year would be, but it was. Last year we feared the worst, and Simon settled in happily from the very start. This year, with another whole year of maturity and confidence under his belt, we knew Simon would head upstairs excited about his new class.
How confident were we? We were so confident that we slacked off on some basic parenting responsibilities, like getting him to bed at a decent hour. You see, last night a bunch of former UK players who are now in the pros played the Dominican national team at the new YUM! center downtown, and Simon went. The Kentucky must run deep in our DNA, as we prioritized his watching Rondo, Harrelson, Wall, and the rest over being well rested. Simon got to bed last night at around 10:15, two hours past his regular bedtime.
But it’s all cool. He might have been sleepy, but he’s still getting off to a good start. For starters, there’s the school director Shary. Simon has known her for a long time now; she’s like family. Here’s how they greeted each other:
And for seconders, Ms. Andrea remembered Simon’s hand sign (a “W” for Whitworth) from when we stopped by to see his room last week while the teachers were setting up, and she flashed it as a greeting. That was enough right there to take her from “new teacher” to “good friend.”
I have a strong feeling that, even Baron-less, this will be Simon’s best year yet.