Eloïse’s tertiary day at school saw an altogether more confident girl say her goodbyes at 08:30. She held our hand as we stood behind her chair and children continued to file into the classroom, but when we said we had to go and asked for kisses, she obliged and said goodbye without a struggle.
We waited outside the classroom until the door was closed, Eloïse remaining quietly content the whole time.
There were no last minute clutches and certainly no tears. We left behind a perhaps still slightly nervous child, but nevertheless a happy one, who is pleased to be at her new school and looking forward to the new experiences and adventures that will be coming her way in the weeks, months and years ahead.
As a parent, it’s hard to believe that she’ll theoretically remain at this school until she’s twelve. The previous phase, the peuterspeelzaal (play school), lasted only a year and a half and yet represents an entire era in her short life. This is it now, the real thing: (primary) school.
It’s good that the weekend is upon us. The week was long enough for Eloïse to warm to and gain confidence with her new environment, but not so long that it became fatiguing. This way, she was able to comfortably slide into place and now has two days to process all of the new impressions with which she has been bombarded. The fact that the Vrije School has children of this age attend for only half the day helps, too, of course, although I suspect that Eloïse would soon be happy to stay there all day.
Today, she’ll be making bread!
Speaking of fatiguing, this new seven o’clock lark is bollocks. Whilst I’ve finally found a use for the Sonos‘s alarm function, it’s unpalatable to actually need it. Winding back my bedtime is proving hard, but by either an act of will or sheer exhaustion, it will eventually happen. It will have to.
Winters are going to be unpleasant. Biking in the dark in freezing temperatures: I can’t wait.