In Just 24 Hours ...

An eternity flew by in just 24 hours ... Was yesterday really a day full of sobs and grief? Was yesterday really as painful and gut-wrenching as we thought?

Well, yes ... but in just 24 hours, we're all smiles.

Grace and I sat on the front steps yesterday afternoon waiting for Aidan's bus to round the corner. I saw his little head bob down the aisle, then a flash of a smile -- albeit a tired one -- as he bounded down the steps. And the first thing he said was:

"I had a really nice lunch! :)
Loved that little tribute ...

We gathered around the kitchen table as he sucked down some juice and answered our questions about his first day. He wasn't very chattery -- he was really, really tired. He said he was a little bit sad after I left but he got better. "I washed my tears away!" he said. He sat with a new boy named John, he played "races" on the playground (uh, oh -- more competitive running ... not his forte), he climbed a rock wall which he'd been dying to see ever since he saw it, he saw Miss Jacie in music class ("But I can't call her Miss Jacie anymore. I have to say her last name now"). He was OK ... just like everyone told me he would be.

He crashed when his sweet head hit the pillow, and I hated waking him up at 6:30 this morning (heck, what am I saying -- I hated getting up myself at 6:30 this morning!). His eyes were puffy, that worn out kind of puffy from an extremely busy day. He was cranky, too -- not a great way to start the morning. He didn't want to wear the shirt I had out because it was green instead of blue (ummm, what?), his cup was too full of the smoothie Don made but when Don emptied some out it then it wasn't enough ... you get the idea. I was getting nervous with this rocky start.

But after a time he leveled out and said eagerly, "Let's go outside and wait for the bus!" So Grace, in her giant cast and still pajama'd, sat on the top step with her new Disney Princess purse and make up kit, pink diva sunglasses on, applying lipstick and whatever else she had there (not real, of course), while Aidan and I chatted. "No tears today, Mommy. It's gonna be OK now." What a boy.

The bus came up the street and Aidan's face beamed. He was ready. He grabbed Don's hand and the two boys walked across the street. I saw his big smile as he got on the bus. He chose his seat (the same one as yesterday -- no surprise there, Mr. Habitual), and looked out the window at us. His smile lit up his face, both hands waving, then his famous two-thumbs-up. He was off.

I feel tears again this morning, but these are happy tears.
What an amazing child.
And all in just 24 hours ...