To Stella, Kindergartner at last

Well, the big development this month is that you are now in Kindergarten. It is hard to believe and, well, you are just so much more grown-up than ever. You love everything about school so far which is the greatest gift a kid can give their parents. You just have an abundance of joy around putting on your uniform and your backpack, walking to school, going into your classroom, etc. The first week was a pretty slow start -- twenty minutes the first day to just meet the teachers and see the classroom, then a playdate in Central Park, then half the class at school for about 2 1/2 hours, then the whole class at school for about 2 1/2 hours for two days. Then it was the weekend. By the time you had a full day of school (including lunch in the cafeteria), you were so ready for it! On the first day when I picked you up I whispered in your ear, "How was it?" and you replied, "It was great!" It made me so happy. The girls in your class seem really nice and you love your teachers -- especially Mrs. Coates. The second week of school, we did have a bit of a problem one day. I picked you up and the first thing you told me was, "They forced me to try a hotdog today and I didn't want it." You begged me to tell your teachers that you were a vegetarian. I did send Mrs. Coates an email and she was very responsive and explained that it was a misunderstanding with the assistant teacher who thought she had to make every child try everything. Anyway, I am confident that nothing like that will happen again.

I hope you continue to enjoy your journey through school and that it instills in you a love for learning, that you are exposed to all kinds of new things and people and adventures. And I hope that you will continue to want to share them with me because I absolutely love and look forward to picking you up from school and hearing about your day.

I love you and I'm so proud of you.
Also, you couldn't look more adorable in your uniform.
Love,
Mom