Wednesday, January 02, 2008
It started with the preview drama of what was about to come the night before when I was preparing her school uniform. Her face turned sour & she insisted that school will only start next year for her .I just smiled. The next morning while her brother is all excited about the prospect of going to school she had started sobbing...crying' I want to go to school with Baijan...'. I just smiled. After getting all dressed up, it gets a little more theatrical with long pauses of deep thoughts with intermittent pleading look with cries of 'I'm sleepy & there's no bed in school!' (???!!!) I still smiled. I get the bucket of bin ready in case she goes all 'merlion' & decided to spew out her tummy's contents.
So we walked to school in between her sobs without any word from me except from a reassuring hand squeeze & a tight-hug. In school, her daddy took over. The school doa was recited with her arms around the daddy's thighs still sobbing. Then it was time to let go, she trutted along like 'choo-choo-train' with her other sad, pitiful looking friends & headed up for her class. She took her place in a corner & sat while still looking forlorn - at least she stopped sobbing & my heart can finally beat normally again. The door finally closed on us & my girl is finally all on her own now. Was is easier to let go 2nd time round?? i can safely sat that it still feels like the first time all over again...
3 hours later, I saw her strutting down the stairs - with tudung & hair all out of place ;p At least she's cheery & her teacher said that it took her all of 5 minutes to start talking to everyone after the door closed. So Mira survived her first day of school & her ummi did too :)