Freedom at last!

At last the big day has arrived! For the first time in her entire life, Cheyenne bounced out of bed at 7.30am with a smile on her face.

Usually, the process of Cheyenne waking up and getting out of bed could be more accurately described as a sluggish ooze. An eyelid drags open, a hand snakes out to grab the sheet and pull it back up over her head and she invariably rolls over to bury her face in the pillow. Five minutes later we repeat the process... usually with more success the second time around. Or not. Sometimes it takes several attempts.

Not today, though. Today is the first day of Prep. Cheyenne is so excited to finally be at "big school", that she was up and ready for breakfast before we could blink. After a bowl of Nutrigrain and a glass of orange juice, she cleaned her teeth and put on her uniform, as she says, "my own self".

I know I am going to struggle with the age old question of what to put in the lunchbox. Yeah, yeah, we all know the basic food pyramid stuff. Gotta have the piece of fruit, the dairy and of course, the sandwich. No lollies or sweet cakes, but apparently the occasional snack-sized packet of chips is OK. Even a handful of Tiny Teddies is allowed, as long as there's healthy food too. So, how to keep variety, avoid potential allergy dramas (of other classmates, thankfully not Cheyenne) and provide things she'll actually eat... for five days a week... for the next 13 years ???

Today's lunchbox contained an apple and some chunks of Devon (woohoo for cheap luncheon meat knobs!) for morning tea, and jam sandwiches (currently the only filling she will eat) and a packet of rice wheel snacks for lunch. Hopefully her frozen water bottle will have thawed enough by morning tea time... OK, lunchbox packed, and we're off.

It wasn't a very nice morning for it, so not only did we have the new uniform, but we also had to break out the new raincoat as well, for the walk to school in the pouring rain..

"I can put my shoes on my own self!"

She looks so tiny in her uniform because it's so big on her.

Steve asked his boss for a late start so that we could all walk to school together for the first time. Once there, her teacher Mrs Johnson, pinned on Cheyenne's name tag and told her she could do some puzzles after she'd unpacked and put her bag away. With her art folio placed on one shelf and her ring binder on another (along with everyone else's), she found her pigeon hole, put her backpack away, and settled down to do some puzzles.

At 9 o'clock the bell rang, there were hugs all round and we left them to it. Some families were a bit teary-eyed, but not ours! Cheyenne is off to school without a backwards glance. In fact, she had to be reminded to give Daddy a hug goodbye!

I'm sure today the country is full of sobbing mothers, distraught that their babies have grown up and left them... but not me. I'm not saying it's a bad thing. It's just not my thing! I'm ecstatic! I can smell the freedom from here.

What will I do with myself for six hours a day? Hmmm.... well, I think that for the first week at least, I will do absolutely nothing. Maybe read a book or two. I've got a few Kathy Reichs novels that are sitting on the bedside table, waiting to be read.

Steve told me that once Cheyenne started school I had to get a job (what? being a mother isn't a job?? Oh, you mean "paid employment" ! ) and I will. After I have some "me time" first!

I'll let you know how that goes...