My dearest Noah,
It’s your first day of school here in Jakarta today, and I think I was more nervous about it than you. You’ve been telling me that you don’t want to go to school, that you want to go to your “Singapore school”, and that you want your best friend L to be in the same class as you, so I was honestly afraid that you would refuse to go to school this morning.
We brought you for a couple of trials, and even though this school isn’t the one with the biggest playground, it does have a decent-sized playground, and a lovely library, both of which you really liked. Last week, I brought you to buy your new uniform, and we spent some time checking out the library, which I think helped to prepare you for school today. You looked so grown up in your new uniform for some reason, and when I sent a picture of you in the uniform to Daddy that day, his immediate response was the exact same thing: that you looked really grown up. Hard to believe that our baby boy is in K1 already!
Last night, we packed your school bag together. I didn’t know what to put into your bag apart from a fresh set of uniform and your water-bottle, but I guess I’ll learn more later, when I pick you up from school. I showed you what you would be wearing this morning, and we tried to go to bed earlier than usual, so that you will get enough rest. That’s something that we have to work on, since you’re used to waking up later in Singapore. After the babies fell asleep, you joined us on our bed, and asked for a “Noah san-gwich (that’s how you pronounce ‘sandwich’)”, which was our cue to hug you as tightly as possible. We prayed and asked God to let you have a good day in school, for you to be happy, and for you to make new friends.
I had a tough time getting you to wake up this morning, and kept asking you to “hurry up” as you ate your breakfast, brushed your teeth, and changed into your school uniform. You still needed me to button up your shirt, but I hope you’ll learn to do it yourself soon. You insisted on pulling on your shorts in a lopsided manner, and refused to let us adjust it for you. We’ve learnt to pick our battles by now, so we let you walk out of the house in your oversized shirt and lopsided shorts.
I was surprised when you told us that you were excited about going to school, until you said, “I’m excited because I can watch tv in the car!” *rolls eyes* I guess the novelty factor of having a tv in our car still hasn’t worn off yet, but I’m glad that you didn’t say a single word about not wanting to go to school today.
Ready for school! (Uniform edited for privacy)
We went to the library to read a few books before going to your classroom, and even though you took ages to put your bag and shoes into your cubbyhole, you entered the classroom without any hesitation, and without even saying goodbye to me! When I peeked in a few seconds later, you were already at the front of the classroom playing with your new classmates, and I had to call your name a couple of times before you looked up to wave goodbye. I guess I should be thankful I didn’t have to deal with any tears, but it was a bittersweet moment for me. I still remember how you cried for a month and a half when you first started school two years ago. Like I said earlier, you’re really so grown up now.
I’ll be picking you up from school soon, and I’m looking forward to hearing all about your first day in school. I hope you would have made at least one new friend, and that you had plenty of fun. It’s been tough on you, having to move to a new country on top of adjusting to your two siblings, so I hope that going to school will help you feel more settled, and get you into a proper routine.
I don’t say it often enough these days, but I do love you very much, my darling boy. Here’s to more adventures in your new school.
With all my love, Mummy
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