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First Day of school as a Senior Wildcat…………
The morning came and I walked up the stairs to wake Kristen up. I opened her bedroom door and there she laid with covers up to her ears. Her clothes perfectly folded on her chair where she had laid them out the night before. I reach over to touch her and silently tell her that it is time to wake up. She slowly gets up and starts to get ready. This will be her first day as a senior at Apalachee High School. She looks in the mirror and makes sure her short hair is in place and her mascara is applied delicately with every stroke. She places her class ring on her little finger.
She grabs her jacket and places her book bag on her shoulder. We head outside to get in the truck and it’s cold out and raining. We hurry to get inside the truck. I ask her if she ready for today and of course with a smile, she tells me yes. She has been waiting for this day for a very long time. 3 months……………. since the accident and she will be walking thru the halls once again.
We parked and began to walk in to the school. Kristen was greeted by several of her friends awaiting for her arrival. We have a scheduled meeting early this morning with several of her teachers and administration to discuss an academic plan. Kristen and I walk by her locker and she notices that a picture of her in her softball uniform is hanging there. She just “awwwwed” over it. Some one had placed that on her locker. That was very thoughtful. We continue walking down the hall to where the meeting will be held. We get to the office and was directed to the conference room. There sat several teachers, staff and a clinic nurse that are prepared to accommidate Kristen with whatever she may need to help her succeed this year. She will be able to audit her classes the rest of the semester to prepare her for those classes next semester.
The bell for 1st period will ring soon. We both will walk to the gym, where she will have weight training. She was prepared to dress out if needed to. With Kristen leading the way, we both went to the coaches offices where she had greeted them with her smiling face. They were all excited to see her. Once the students started to see her, they were all welcoming her back to school. She seen one of her friends that she’s known since kindergarten. They both had 3 classes and lunch together. She felt more at ease and so did I. One of her girlfriends welcomed her back with a cute balloon and a bag of treats. This was so very sweet and thoughtful.
I will be leaving Kristen during this class to take care of her lunch account. I walk away and I don’t look back. I am confident and know she is going to be fine. I walk to the cafeteria to place money in her account. Her account will need to be re-activated. She will have lunch at school today. Everyone has been so helpful to get Kristen back to school. I make my way to the PDC to discuss when I will return to work. I may be starting back on Monday. Kristen and I are ready to move forward. I forgot what my life was like before her accident. It’s all just a fog. I have been so focussed on her and getting her back to normal, somewhat normal.
I don’t take long and head to my place of work to give them a quick update. The elementary school is next the Kristen’s High School. This will make things a lot easier and quicker, if she ever needs me. It was great to see some of the ladies that supported Kristen and my family during this time. I can never thank them enough. I love them all. My mind is on Kristen and can’t get her off of it not one minute.
I leave and make my way back to the High School to check on her. I have a copy of her schedule, so I know where she is. I walk down the hall and see the class room on the right. Students are still in the hall way, making their way to their class. I turn and look anxiously in the classroom. I see her. She looks up and sees me. She waves from afar and we meet in the front of the class. I look at her as she talks to me. I make sure her eyes are fine and her speech is ok. When she gets tired, she says the wrong words and her eyes get really heavy. She doesn’t look tired. She remains excited about this day, so I am excited for her. She hugs me and I tell her to have a good day. I exit the classroom and begin walking down the hall. I will leave once again, but I will go home and prepare the sofa for Kristen to take a nap when she gets home today.
It is close to time to pick Kristen up from school. Still raining oustside, I pick up my umbrella at the door. I lock up and run to the truck to get in out of the rain. I am anxious to hear about her day. My thoughts are of her constantly. I walk in the building meeting staff and administration. They all have been watching her thru out the day. They all said that she seemed to be tolerating the day and looked great. I was pleased and eager to see her again. One of the staff members walked me to her last class of the day. She also watched Kristen thru the day. She said positive things as well. We got to her class room door and I stood there watching her thru the glass window. She is sitting in front of a computer monitor watching and listening to a lecture. This class will be an important one. She will need to get this academic credit to get her closer to graduate with her class. I talked briefly to her teacher and she says Kristen is doing well for her first day. I was relieved.
It’s about 3:10 and I will go ahead and take her home. She looks great. She is not tired, but she is hungry. She starts telling me about her day in excitement. Her kindergarten friend walked her to each class. Kristen said it was good to see him and all of her other friends. Everyone was so helpful and excited to see her back. She said she enjoyed all of classes. We got home and she got settled in. She was hungry, so I made her a snack. She wanted to watch a movie so we both sat in front of the tv snacking on chips and salsa. I covered us up and snuggled on the couch. I told her how proud I was of her and how brave she is. She tells me, “Thanks mommy.”
