When Vanessa started attending the Lower Bay pre-school she was NOT happy, crying when she was left at the school and crying again when she arrived back home. She was teased a lot during the first few weeks and it upset her dreadfully. She settled in eventually but it took a while!
Little Rachel would watch Nessie leave for school each morning, standing on the porch as her older sister trudged down family hill. Rachel desperately wanted to go to school too, she missed Vanessa during the day and was always waiting for her on the porch when it was time for her to come home.
The day came when Rachel was old enough for pre-school, and I can remember how excited she was. Her little maroon uniform was ready, along with white blouse and socks, and she could hardly contain herself as her hair was being brushed and braided. Rachel was a stubborn child, always happy and sunny until she wanted something done HER way, and she would get terribly upset if she wasn’t allowed to do that “something” without the help of an adult. The expression “I want to do it myfelf!” was one I dreaded, it could mean that she wanted to tie her own shoelaces or brush her own hair, chores she was not yet able to perform on her own.
Rachel’s first day of school started off smoothly enough. Getting two little girls ready was more work that just one, and Arleus was helping them get dressed while I assembled the lunch boxes. We were running late and of course that’s when Rachel decided that she wanted to lace her own shoes. She didn’t know how to tie bows yet but wanted to do it herself and the fight was on. She howled, “I want to do it myfelf! I want to do it myfelf!” as Arleus attempted to tie the laces. She kept untying the bows until Mac stepped in to put a stop to the tantrum.
Rachel’s stubbornness that first day set the trend for the days to follow, she insisted on doing everything herself and it slowed everyone down. As a result she probably learned to tie shoelaces earlier than most children her age but it was a very trying time!
Rachel didn’t even turn around to say good-bye to me that first day, she was too busy clambering into the back of the land-rover. I felt a lump in my throat as I watched my stubborn little girl, her pretty face glowing with excitement as she set out for school. It was only yesterday she was a baby and now she was a schoolgirl!
