Kingston’s Journey

“He didn’t even hug me goodbye.”  Those were the words I sputtered out to my wife after our son, Kingston, walked into his kindergarten class for the first time. In all fairness to him, the lack of a hug didn’t come from any place of ill-intent. He was just so excited, that taking another five seconds before plowing into the classroom was out of the question.

Kingston probably didn’t give that moment another thought as he went through the rest of his day, meeting new friends and exploring new hallways. His overly nostalgic father did, however. How could my little boy, who just yesterday I was cradling in my arms, be in “big school” now?

This is a feeling I’m sure most parents go through as their children grow up. Before I know it, I’ll be wondering how he’s about to go to middle school, high school, and college, before eventually placing his old man in a retirement home, but I digress.

As I write this, he’s been in school for less than a week, and I find myself wondering what he’s doing throughout the day. Is he having fun? Is he learning new things? Has he destroyed anything in the school yet? Hopefully the answer is yes to two of those questions.

Luckily for me, Kingston loves to tell me about his day. What he ate, what he learned, what he played on the playground. I enjoy hearing every bit of it. I love both of my kids equally, but Kingston and I have a special bond. He was the first person to call me “dad.” As I’ve written about before, we’ve gone on many adventures together in his five years. We love making Ava a part of that now, but for a long time, it was just us. The Vogler boys exploring uncharted territory.

And now we’ve reached this new uncharted territory: kindergarten. I’m far more worried about it than he is, I’m sure, but I also know that he will be fine. He’s at a good school with, from what I can tell so far, a wonderful teacher. And more than all that, he’s a great kid. I love him and I’m beyond proud of him. I can’t wait to see where life’s journey takes him next.

I want to hear from you all! What are some experiences you’ve had with your kids? How do you cope with your little ones starting school? Send me a note at: lee@showcasemagazine.com