Thursday, September 6, 2012

Indeed, it's a wonderful world

My five-year-old son climbed aboard the school bus and roared off to kindergarten today, and although I did shed a tear at his impatient "I want to go now," I'm doing surprisingly well at the moment. My three-year-old and I spent the morning running errands, picking up library books, and baking brownies. She's now taking her nap, and I'm glad to have two hours to myself. I don't plan on doing much—no laundry or dishes or other chores. Instead, I think I'll read and celebrate the fact that I'm making it through the day. And you know what? I'm happy. ☺

Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" has always held special meaning for me, and the lyrics have been going through my mind most of the day. I love this video. Armstrong's smile is infectious—who could feel anything but happy?



How is your day going, friends?

43 comments:

  1. Aww, I know it must be sad but that's great that he's excited for school. Sounds like you two had a great morning, you definitely need a bit of time to yourself to relax. ;)

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    1. He had a great day! It's hard to be away from him, but knowing he's happy makes it easier.

      I took that relaxation time. :)

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  2. So happy for you that you made it through that initial letting go and are having a good day! It is a hard adjustment. I'm thinking of all the fun my three year old and I just had coloring together! (which might not have happened if her brother wasn't in kindergarten today)

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    1. I cried when he got off the bus this afternoon—I was so happy to see him! I suspect I'll have my sad days, but I'm looking forward to spending time with my daughter. :)

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  3. That is indeed a great song. By now you've probably greeted the bus and heard a marvelous tale about what fun school is.

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    1. I have, and he's full of tales! :) I did cry when he got off the bus, though. He just seemed so grown up...

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  4. Aw. I hope your son had a great day. Both of mine loved their first day, but I felt sorry for those kids (and parents) who were crying and wanted to go home - that's so much harder!

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    1. He had a great day, and that makes me feel a lot better!

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  5. It's a milestone for you AND your son! Enjoy your time with your daughter! And enjoy your time when she takes a nap!

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    1. Naptime was great today! My daughter was so tired from the early wake-up this morning that she went right to sleep. Yay!

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  6. Congrats on the milestone! Hope he had a fun first day.

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  7. I love that song! I had never seen him sing it live. Thanks for sharing. (I'm glad you survived the first day of school. And I noticed you're a "not-so-thirty something mom" now. LOL! Me too!)

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    1. I figured it was about time I changed that. Haha!

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  8. The peace and quiet is nice, huh?
    I miss the days of babies and naps and Disney. I am alone in the quiet too much these days....
    I am glad it was easy to get your son on the school bus!! Hope he had a great day and I do love that song!!

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    1. He really had a wonderful day. :)

      The quiet at naptime today was awesome. I'd forgotten what it was like to hear myself think!

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  9. I remember when my little one first went to school, I bought a magazine with the intention of reading it with a quiet cup of coffee but as soon as I sat down I promptly burst in to tears. Needless to say he actually loved his first day at school.

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    1. It's so much harder on us than them, isn't it? :)

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  10. Congrats to the big guy on making it through his first day of Kindergarten! I don't know how I will handle putting my guy on a bus.

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    1. Thanks! He's so proud of himself—and I'm very proud of him!

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  11. You're such a positive, yet down-do-earth person, Dana. I enjoy your blog because I want to see what silver lining in a dark cloud you'll see next. I hope I can endeavor to be more positive like you. :)

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    1. That's very sweet of you to say. Thank you, Cathy. :)

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  12. My "What a Wonderful World" ends with the kids going off to college.
    And me getting little weepy.
    It's all good now, though.
    I can walk around the house in my underwear and no teenagers get skeeved.
    Although the dog howls.

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  13. Sometimes our state of happiness comes from simple things and often when we are content, we are happiest! :D

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    1. Yes, sometimes the simple things are the best. :)

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  14. Congrats on surviving his first day! I bet the little extra time will be nice and he'll love it. :) You are doing great!

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  15. Aw - that's neat that it was his first day. And you have picked just the perfect theme song for your day.

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  16. I had the awesome pleasure of teaching a K-2 class in a local public school for ten years. I loved every minute of that time - I had the children for three years and got to watch them go from barely knowing the alphabet to reading chapter books. I needed and loved parent participation so we became like a family. This song was one of our theme songs! There is a children't book with cool illustrations and we painted homage pictures and listened to and yes sang along to Louie. There is also a cool version by the Hawaiian singer Iz - he does a poignant rendition of this song blended with Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Oh my, talk about bringing tears to the eyes....

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1sj2gQJIKI

    Thanks for your post!

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    1. That sounds like a wonderful job! How blessed you were to get to see those kids grow.

      Thanks for the link. :)

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  17. I can only imagine how hard it is to send your little one to school for the first time! But once you get used to it...you'll probably enjoy having a bit more time to yourself. And I agree with the previous poster about that version of the song...so, so beautiful.

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    1. My daughter is taking a nap right now, and the house is more quiet than it's been in years. It's nice.

      I'll definitely check out that version. :)

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  18. Good for you! It's hard to let our babies go out on their own, but I think that kid is ready! It'll be nice to just have time with your daughter now too. I commend you for putting him on the bus, though. I haven't had to do that, and I don't plan to. That may have made it harder for you, but you still did it! Good for you! Now go have a brownie for me and read a lot!

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    1. Putting him on that bus was so hard. He loves it, though, so I'll probably continue to let him ride it, but I think I'll insist on driving him once in a while, too. :)

      I'll definitely be reading today! I'm just finishing up a book I love. I've got to find out how it ends! :)

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  19. Dana it is also one of my favourites I often listen to it. So optimistic and beautiful and that "Oh yeah" at the end gives me shivers.

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  20. Ah, yes! Those mixed-feelings days. ;)
    I love this song, too. I love happy songs celebrating life. Even "Don't Worry, Be Happy!" LOL! :):)

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    1. That's a good way of describing them: "those mixed-feelings days." :)

      Now I have "Don't Worry, Be Happy" stuck in my head!

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  21. So glad the first day went well!!! I'm glad you had the aft. to yourself. I pray your son has a wonderful year~! How did the brownies turn out? :-)

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    1. Thanks, mare. So far he loves kindergarten!

      The brownies were just from a mix, but they were really good. We'll be baking more soon. :)

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  22. AWWW...Love it!

    Sounds like you are choosing to live and enjoy each precious moment!

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