First Day of First Grade

In some ways it is hard to believe that Girl is already on to first grade and is going to turn seven in the next few months. In other ways, well, she has grown so much this past year that it is completely believable... she is so much older than the little girl I walked up to kindergarten on her first day last year. The biggest changes besides height, maturity in the face, and her camaraderie with fellow gals? She no longer has to be walked to class, so she disappears into the school from the curb all on her own, dwarfed by her giant Hannah Montanna back pack and her swinging, pink lunch pail. Also, she no longer dresses in that nonchalant way that my little baby girl used to (pretty much all for comfort), but instead shops at Macy's, where she chooses the most be-glittered, be-dazzled, sequined, pink or purple clothes that she can locate. (Woe to her, her doc says that she has to wear supportive tennis shoes for her pigeon toed walk, but we still manage plenty of sparkle and glam.) That (and her love of mysteries) is why we now call her "Fancy Drew."

Also, we started a new family tradition for the first day of school (besides back to school shopping, which my mom sponsored this year): Make your own sundaes! Born out of a desire to treat her to something special but a piteous lack of funds, comes something I can see unfolding into an anticipated treasure for many years to come.