Hearts A-Bumping

Yesterday Aidan and I had an opportunity to visit his new school for the morning with other prospective parents and children. It began with a half-hour chapel, a truly heart-lifting and inspiring time when 200 kids sang their little hearts out in worship. Wonderful. Chapel was followed by an hour spent in the classroom, meeting the teacher and observing what went on. Well, most of us did the observing ... Aidan jumped right in and participated.

Here are a few memorable moments of the day:

- On the drive to the school, Aidan suddenly started giggling his beautiful, bubbly giggle. "Mommy, I just can't stop giggling!" he said. "It means I'm just so excited!"

- We parked in the lot and walked up the path toward the main door. We held hands, Aidan squeezing mine off and on. I looked down at him and he had a wide smile on his face. "Mommy, I'm happy. My heart is bumping!"

- Once in the classroom, he suddenly and unexpectedly pulled a bit of a shy routine, suddenly grabbing my legs and wanting to sit on my lap rather than join the kids on the rug. I was a bit surprised -- with his bumping heart and uncontrollable giggles, I didn't expect this rare display of reservation. But it only lasted about a minute. He knew one of the girls in the class, a friend of his from church, and he ditched his shyness and found a spot on the rug next to her. From that point on I didn't even exist.

- Aidan raised his hand in response to almost every question, most of which dealt with things he doesn't even know yet, like telling time and counting change. But I was proud of my boy for feeling no apprehension, getting up in front of all of those kids, trying to count out 19 cents when he absolutely no idea what each coin represented. He was beaming as he took his seat, oblivious to the fact that he gathered about 33 cents in change, but proud of himself for doing it.

- He participated in another exercise, one of his favorites: writing. He sat next to his friend at the desk and was given a sheet of paper and a pencil. He wrote his name (first and last), and wrote a few sentences: I like red. I like cars. My dog is Jack. No ... he'll have no problem in school.

- On the way out, he was given a rice krispie treat from one lady, and a chocolate chip cookie from another. With one treat in each hand, and a mouth full of food, he asked me a question. I had no idea what he said, as crumbs flew out. He repeated himself a few times until I understood (and kind of wished I didn't): "Mommy, can you itch my butt for me?" OK ... I've done a lot of things as a mother, and I have been asked a lot of questions, but never -- ever! -- have I been faced with this scenario. Thank goodness "it" worked itself out on its own on the way back to the car. Phew.

What a day -- a promising day. I was so proud of my boy, and I feel so hopeful for his future.