Saying Goodbye for the First Time

This is my pride and joy. I wrote this first person story last fall in my Feature Writing class. It is about my experience of my son starting his first day of school. This story was published in the Canyon Newspaper September 29th, 2007.

Saying Goodbye for the First Time

I sat in my car for almost 10 minutes crying, thinking about what had just happened.
I said goodbye for the first time as my son started his first day of kindergarten. Of the 2,340 days my son will spend in school, this was his first.
As we walked toward Sundown Lane Elementary, I walked behind him because he didn’t want his mommy to hold his hand. My neck was weighted down with cameras to capture the day my son has been waiting for, and the day I was dreading.
We entered his classroom where his teacher, Mrs. Deonia Campbell was waiting with a smile. My son wanted to find his desk that was designated for him. As he walked around the room to look at the names on the desks, I heard a little voice say, “Mommy, this is my desk.” I walked to him to see if he was right, there it was in big letters, Keegan.
As Keegan settled in and was ready for his first day of school, his classroom started to diminish from the pack of parents surrounding their own kindergarteners. I knew it was about time for me to leave. I could feel the minutes ticking in my heart as the clock reached 8:05. I thought Mrs. Campbell would have to say, “Mrs. Pompa, you need to go home now.” As hard as it was, I left with tears already forming in my eyes as Keegan told me, “Mommy, I will be OK; you can go home now.”
Memories poured through my mind of Keegan as a baby and needing me for every milestone he conquered. This was different, he didn’t need me because he is a big boy.
As I drove away, Sundown Lane was getting smaller and smaller through my review mirror. Soon the elementary was nowhere in sight.
I thought about Keegan all day. I kept my cell phone close by in case his school called me. The seven hours he was away from me were excruciating. I was worried that he wasn’t being helped, or he would get lost going back to his classroom after using the bathroom. I couldn’t keep my eyes off the clock as the hours went by slowly.
The time was finally here, 3:20. School was out. It was time to see my kindergartener for the first time since saying goodbye seven hours earlier. The anticipation was killing me, waiting for my 3-foot-5-inch, 38-pound, 5-year-old to exit the giant building.
When I saw Keegan walk out with his class, I held back my temptation to run after him and hold him in my arms. I waved to him to show him where I was. A smile from ear to ear formed on his face when he spotted me. His little mind was full of stories that he couldn’t wait to tell me, and I couldn’t wait to hear about his first day of kindergarten.
Keegan didn’t close his mouth the entire drive home. We talked about friends he met, what he learned from his teacher, and his favorite part of the day—recess. Keegan is a very picky eater; I was curious what he had eaten for lunch. He was excited to tell me that he had pizza.
“Mommy, my pizza wasn’t shaped like a triangle,” Keegan said. “It was shaped like a door.”
I laughed at each story he told me. My mind was put to ease with each passing story; I was assured he had a good, safe day.
Keegan was very excited about his first day of school.
“Mommy,” Keegan said, “My teacher told me to come back tomorrow. Can I?”
Yes, honey, I told him. You can go back tomorrow.