First Day of Kindergarten

School Days
School days, school days
Dear old golden rule days
Readin' and 'ritin' and 'rithmetic
Taught to the tune of the hickory stick
You were my queen in calico
I was your bashful barefoot beau
And you wrote on my slate
"I love you, so"
When we were a couple of kids
Nothing to do, Nellie Darling
Nothing to do you say
Let's take a trip on memory's ship
Back to the bygone days
Sail to the old village school house
Anchor outside the school door
Look in and see
There's you and there's me
A couple of kids once more

School days, school days
Dear old golden rule days
Readin' and 'ritin' and 'rithmetic
Taught to the tune of the hickory stick
You were my queen in calico
I was your bashful barefoot beau
And you wrote on my slate
"I love you, so"
When we were a couple of kids

'Member the hill
Nellie Darling
And the oak tree
That grew on its brow
They've built forty storeys
Upon that old hill
And the oak's an old chestnut now
'Member the meadows
So green, dear
So fragrant with clover and maize
Into new city lots
And preferred business plots
They've cut them up
Since those days

School days, school days
Dear old golden rule days.
Readin' and 'ritin' and 'rithmetic
Taught to the tune of the hickory stick
You were my queen in calico
I was your bashful barefoot beau
And you wrote on my slate
"I love you, so"
When we were a couple of kids

Will D. Cobb, 1907

I can't believe the day has actually arrived. It is bittersweet to see her growing up so fast. I miss my "little" girl with the chubby cheeks and the twinkling eyes. She is turning into a young lady before my eyes and I want to just stop time and savor more of this innocence and sense of wonder.

How do you other moms cope with these growing pains?