Playground squeeze, first day of school, Berkeley, CA.
He is ready.
He’s been ready for who knows how long, whether he knew it before today or not. He was ready today, from the moment he awoke, to the moment he tied his shoes on the stairs, to the moment he sat with his sister and two cousins out in front of our shared yard for the annual all-cousin first day of school portrait, to his holding hands and skipping up the street to the schoolyard with his sister, through the bumpy patch of the mosh pit crush of parents, caregivers, and schoolkids in the yard, to the transitional minutes in the classroom during which we sat and read with him, all the way up to the moment the teacher asked parents and caregivers to leave the classroom, and we did. Some more reluctantly than others.
“Bye, Baba,” he mouthed, waving as he sat cross-legged on the colored-grid rug. And that was that.
That is the sweetest photo EVER!
I couldn’t agree with you more (subjectively)! His big sister was sooooo happy and solicitous. Hard to say who was thrillder and prouder. Win-win. 🙂