As mentioned in the previous post, the weather had been good Sunday so they had tea outside. We pitched up just as they were toasting marshmallows. Yum!
What was good about this was leveling nature of this exercise. Boys (and the odd sister)*, school nurse, helpers, parents all getting down and enjoying the ritual. It was a lovely transition from home to school on a Sunday evening.
Made us feel like a family. Which is precisely what we are I suppose.
*supervised.
This first week is mercifully short - yet agonisingly long. Tom has three school days and three sleeps, but during that time the school were very clear that they wold prefer it if we had no contact.
We've known for a long time this would be the case for the first week or two. Clearly the school and staff (especially the nurses) are well experienced with youngsters who've not spent anything like this length of time without contact with their parents. They are the professionals.
That of course makes it no easier.
Excepting his sister, our house is both quieter and relatively tidier. Of course we miss him dreadfully, it's unbearable. We put faith in the school and that we'll all get used to it. We hope we're not doing our son irreparable damage, that he'll forgive us and flourish. Again, if it's not for him then that's OK - nothing ventured, nothing gained.
So we're not to try to contact him, not to speak nor to visit. If the school needed to speak to us, they would. But still mum puts a call in, just to check, just to be reassured.
Wouldn't you?
"He's fine... doing really well" the nurse says. She reassures without going into too much detail - just enough to put us at ease.
Clever huh.
Still, just to make sure for next week - when we are allowed to initiate contact - I put a shout out at work for a spare mobile for him. Seems most of the boys have them; they're left with the school nurse during the day and made available during evening 'free time', which is a precious few minutes between prep, music practice and bed.
