First Day
4247 Maplewood Dr.
Monday, August 23, 1993
4:00 AM
“Mommy—Mommy wake up.”
The tiny voice penetrated Amanda’s consciousness. A hand touched her cheek gently.
“Mommy,” Jenna spoke again, more insistently this time. “It’s time to get up.”
“Time?” Amanda repeated as she opened her eyes, focusing on the small figure standing beside her bed. How could it be time when it felt like she’d only just gotten to bed? Still dark outside—her eyes fell on the red numbers of her bedside clock.
4 AM—dear God. Lying beside her Lee let out a groan.
Jenna’s hand tugged hers. “We gotta get up—we’re gonna be late.”
“Sweetheart, no,” Amanda told her. “It’s not time yet—it’s too early. Go back to bed.”
“But what if I miss it?” Jenna asked.
“You won’t miss it,” Amanda said. “I promise I’ll wake you up.”
A pause. “Okay.” Jenna said finally. “You won’t forget?”
“She won’t forget, munchkin,” Lee added. “We promise. Just please go back to bed.”
“I will,” Jenna replied. “Good night.”
“Good night, sweetheart.”
SMK SMK SMK SMK
7:00 AM
“Here,” Amanda handed Lee a cup of coffee. “I think we both need it today.”
“Yeah, and it better be industrial strength,” Lee muttered as he took a swallow—after last night he might need a few of these just to make it through the day. It had taken him forever to get back to sleep, and as soon as he had managed to drop off the alarm had sounded. “Tell me, is she going to do this every morning from now on?”
“No,” Amanda opened the fridge and took out a carton of eggs. Reaching up into the cabinet she took down a large mixing bowl. “Before too long it’ll be a struggle to get her up but this is her first day, Lee—she’s so excited.”
“Yeah,” Lee smiled as he recalled the day they’d gone to visit the school—she’d gotten to see her classroom and even meet her new teacher, Mrs. Pruss. At first she’d hung back a little, her expression nervous, her small hand holding his own in a death grip. But as soon as Jenna had spotted the brightly decorated room with its assortment of books and toys her face had lit up like a Christmas tree.
“When do I get to go back?” she’d asked all the way home. Amanda and Dotty had put a calendar in her room and Jenna had marked off the days one by one with a purple marker.
Now the day was here—she would finally be going to school. Lee took another sip of coffee, thinking back to his own first day:
“Have fun, sport.” The feel of his father’s large hand tousling his hair—his father hadn’t been able to come to school with him that day, he remembered—his mother had taken him….
Walking down the hallway towards the classroom, clinging to his mother’s hand —that long hallway—everything had looked so huge….
“Now I want you to be a good boy, Lee—and do everything the teacher says. All right?” his mother’s eyes looking into his own, suspiciously bright… she’d knelt beside him and straightened his collar, her lips had brushed against his forehead. “Have a wonderful day, darling.”
And it had been a good day—he’d had fun—he’d made friends with a boy named Tommy and managed to stay out of trouble—well, for the most part anyway.
Of course he’d been five and a half at the time—while Jenna was still—
“Are we sure she’s ready for this?” He said out loud.
Amanda poured the pancake batter into the frying pan. “Lee—”
“She’s only four, Amanda,” Lee continued. “She’s smaller—what if one of the other kids gives her a hard time or she has trouble keeping up? The school said we could wait until next year if we wanted to.”
Amanda sighed. “In the first place, Dr. Kelford said that Jenna’s height and weight are average for her age—”
“Her age still being four—”
“She’s only months away from being five,” Amanda reminded him as she flipped the pancakes. “Listen, I did the same thing with Jamie and it worked out just fine. I really think Jenna will be fine too.”
“I certainly hope so.” His coffee finished, he stood up to pour himself another cup.
“Jenna!” Amanda called out. “Come downstairs, sweetheart—your breakfast is almost ready.”
“Coming!” Jenna called back. Lee heard the sound of feet thumping down the stairs and shook his head reflexively—to say his daughter was excited was an understatement.
“I’m all ready, Mommy.” Jenna announced as she appeared in the doorway. “I got dressed myself.”
Dressed—quickly Lee put his coffee down on the counter before he dropped it, looking at the little girl who stood before him.
“Don’t I look nice, Daddy?” Jenna asked him.
“I—well, munchkin, I—” Lee struggled to think of something, anything to say, but the words just wouldn’t come. The lavender sweatshirt and matching sweatpants were normal at least—but the rest—a purple feather boa lay across Jenna’s shoulders, the color exactly matching the galoshes she wore on her feet. And if that wasn’t enough, the whole affair had been topped off by a golden-colored plastic crown. “You look very interesting,” he finished lamely.
“I matched colors,” Jenna told them.
“You—well you certainly do match, sweetheart,” Amanda finished transferring the now-finished pancakes to a plate and knelt beside her. “And I’m very proud that you dressed yourself. But you know, the feather boa and the crown—those are just for dress up at home. Remember?”
“Well—yeah,” Jenna said. “But Grandma said they were pretty—she got them for me.”
“Yes, they are,” Amanda replied. “But you’re going to be running around and playing—you don’t want to lose anything, do you? And you know those boots are just for rain—it’s sunny today. Okay?”
Jenna looked down at her feet, biting down on her lower lip. “Okay,” she said finally.
“Hey—listen,” Amanda said. “How about we put a purple ribbon in your hair today? That’ll match, and it’ll be really pretty with your outfit.”
Jenna looked up at her and smiled. “Okay,” she said again. “But can I wear my dress-up necklace?”
“We’ll see, and maybe we’ll be able to find an even better necklace,” Amanda hugged her. “Why don’t you sit down and eat your pancakes and we’ll get you all fixed up after.”
SMK SMK SMK SMK
8:00 AM
“Here we go.” Amanda double-looped the purple plastic necklace around Jenna’s neck. “Yeah, that looks much better when it’s shorter.”
“Thanks, Mommy.” Jenna said.
“Time to put your backpack on, munchkin,” Lee helped to put it on her shoulders. “Don’t forget, now—your snack and your blanket are right in here.”
“I won’t,” Jenna replied. “But what about Bella?”
“She’s in there too,” Amanda said. “But just remember she’s only for naptime.”
Jenna nodded. “Only for naptime,” she repeated solemnly.
“Hold it—” Camera in hand, Dotty raced down the stairs. “Just one last picture before you go.”
One last picture before you go—Lee swallowed as a little lump rose in his throat—looking over at Amanda he could see she felt the same way. He put his arm around her, pulling her close.
“Okay, now Jenna you stand in front,” Dotty said. “Now on the count of three—one—two—three—everybody say cheese.”
“Cheese!” Jenna yelled, as Dotty snapped the photo.
SMK SMK SMK SMK
Long Branch Elementary School
8:15 AM
“Daddy look!” Jenna tugged at his hand as they got out of the car. “Look at the playground—doesn’t it look fun?”
“Yeah it does,” Lee agreed, looking at the playground set with its monkey bars—the swings—the little tunnels that Jenna loved to climb through. Of course the playground had changed a bit since his day. They didn’t have see-saws any more, or the jungle gym.
“Can we play now?” Jenna asked.
“No, sweetheart not now,” Amanda said. “But you’ll be able to play during recess.”
“Yay!” Jenna exclaimed. “I love recess.”
Lee laughed. “I know you do, munchkin.”
He used to love recess too—especially the monkey bars—the feel of the metal bars in his hands, his body swinging back and forth as he made his way across—
On his first day his dad had come to pick him up from school—a rare thing since he usually was at work—he had even allowed Lee play a little bit before taking him home.
“Hey, Dad—watch me!” Lee had called out. “I can make it all the way over.”
His father had smiled. “That’s fantastic, sport—but come on now, your mother will be waiting.” He’d lifted him into his arms. “So, how was your first day?”
“It was great, Dad—we did lots of stuff—”
Lee shook his head bemusedly—he hadn’t thought about that in years—it was funny how all these memories were coming back.
A second tug at his hand brought him back to the present—he looked down at his daughter.
“I think it’s going to be fun today,” Jenna told him.
“Yeah,” he said, smiling down at her. “I think so too.”
SMK SMK SMK SMK
The long walk down the hallway—only this time he was the one with a child and it didn’t seem so long, not anymore. Jenna held her parents’ hands as she walked, turning her head this way and that—looking at the other students—the colorful displays on the wall— her dark eyes so wide.
‘All so big…’ he knew without words what his daughter was thinking.
“Good Morning!” The teacher had smiled down at him as he’d approached. “I’m Miss Warren.”
“This is Lee Stetson,” his mother had replied.
“Hello, Lee,” Miss Warren said.
“Hi,” Lee had managed to say. He’d clutched his mother’s hand tightly, staring past her into the room at all the other kids—kids he didn’t know—his stomach had felt all knotted up inside.
What if they didn’t like him? What if no one wanted to play?
Then he’d spotted two boys on the rug playing with dump trucks, using the trucks to knock down stacks of blocks.
That looked like fun—just then one of the little boys looked up at him and smiled—Lee smiled back.
Maybe Kindergarten wouldn’t be so bad after all.
“Won’t you come in?” Miss Warren stood aside to let him pass….
Miss Warren—for a moment Lee thought he was seeing things as he stared at the dark-haired woman who stood in the doorway of the classroom—
“Mrs. Pruss!” Jenna called out.
“Good Morning, Jenna!” Mrs. Pruss replied. “It’s so good to see you—won’t you come in and meet some of the other children?”
Jenna grinned. “Okay.”
Peering inside the room Lee eyed the other children—some of them were a bit taller, but most of them seemed around the same size—Jenna wouldn’t stand out, thank God.
“Jenna, Daddy and I are going to go now,” Amanda said. “We’ll be back to pick you up at three.” Bending down she gave her a hug. “Have a good day, sweetheart—I love you.”
Jenna returned the hug. “I love you too, Mommy—love you, Daddy.”
Lee hugged her. “I love you too, munchkin—have a great day.”
“Hi.” A little girl with short blonde hair walked over to Jenna. “I’m Christy—your necklace is pretty.”
“Thanks,” Jenna said. “My name’s Jenna.”
“Do you want to play blocks with me?” Christy asked.
“Sure,” Jenna said. “I love blocks.”
Christy grinned. “Me too—come on.”
Without a glance backwards Jenna walked into the room beside Christy. Lee and Amanda stood there for a moment, holding each other and watching.
‘She’ll be fine,’ Lee thought to himself. ‘She’ll be just fine.’
SMK SMK SMK SMK
4247 Maplewood Dr.
2:35 PM
He’d found it.
Wordlessly Lee stared down at the photograph of himself, standing on the front porch of his house carrying his satchel and lunchbox—a Davy Crockett lunchbox—he remembered telling his parents that he had to have one. His mother stood behind him—her hands resting on his shoulders. His father had taken the picture— in his mind Lee could see him standing there, camera in hand—
“Hold still, son—now smile—say cheese!”
“Lee?” Amanda came into the family room. “We should probably go soon if we want to beat the school traffic—what’s that you found?” She perched on the arm of the chair, looking at the picture he held.
“It’s me from my first day of school,” Lee told her. “To be honest I’d forgotten it was even in here until today—I guess it was seeing Jenna —it brought all those memories back.”
“I can imagine,” Amanda said softly, her hand wrapping around his.
“I tried not to think so much, you know?” Lee said. “About that year— because that was the year I lost them but that day, Amanda—it was a good day—and now I have a child—remembering doesn’t hurt at much as it used to.”
“I know.” Amanda gave his hand a squeeze. “Listen—when we get Jenna’s picture developed we’ll put it in a frame between your picture and my picture—what do you think?
”
“I think that sounds like a great idea, Mrs. Stetson,” Lee said. Amanda bent down as their lips met in a kiss.
SMK SMK SMK SMK
Long Branch Elementary School
3:00 PM
“Mommy—Daddy!” Jenna ran towards them. “Hi!”
“Hi yourself, munchkin.” Lee scooped her up in his arms. “How was your first day?”
“It was great,” Jenna said. “We got to play—then we heard a story about Mike Mulligan and a steam shovel.”
“Yeah, I think I remember that story,” Lee said. He remembered sitting cross-legged on the rug as the teacher read from the book, showing them the pictures as she read. “What else did you do?”
“We sang songs,” Jenna replied. “Like ‘Twinkle, Twinkle’, then um— we learned numbers and letters and had a snack and a nap and recess and other stuff—‘cept I really didn’t take a nap, I just closed my eyes.”
“That sounds like a full day,” Amanda said. “Did you make any friends?”
Jenna nodded. “Uh-huh—Lisa and Christy—oh I fell down on the playground but it didn’t really hurt –it was on the monkey bars.”
“On the monkey bars?” Lee repeated.
“Yeah,” Jenna said. “I didn’t make it all the way over—it’s too hard.”
‘I can make it all the way over’—in his head Lee could still hear those words, see his father standing there—smiling—watching him as he swung across—
“Well monkey bars take practice,” he told her. “I used to like to do those when I was little—I can show you what to do later on.”
Jenna’s eyes widened. “You were little like me?”
“Yeah I was—just like you,” Lee kissed the top of her head. “In fact, when we get home I’ll even show you a picture from my very first day—how does that sound?”
“Good,” Jenna replied. “And can we maybe have cookies too?”
“We’ll have cookies too, sweetheart,” Amanda said.
The End
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