My Small Town Paradise

My Son by Jessica Hillis (me)

I watch my little girl skip down the sidewalk on our way to school. Fall is finally here and it’s chilly out. I should have put her in pants instead of a dress and tights. She doesn’t seem to notice.

“The dog isn’t here today!” she says. Every day we stop to pet the neighbors dog that is normally outside. Then I wave and greet her owner and continue on.

School is only a block away so it makes sense to walk instead of drive. My boys are already off on the bus. The town is so small they have a school for every 2 grades (For example, 1st and 2nd together, 3rd and 4th, etc.) They walk to the bus stop each morning. I don’t worry about them walking that far.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

My little one likes to stop at every sign we see and asks what it says. So I tell her. Now she knows and pretends to read them herself. She’s only 4, she can’t really read, but she is pretty proud of herself.

She continues to skip to the front of the school.

“Walk, walk, walk please! We don’t want to run into anyone!” I say as I smile and say hello to the other parents.

It doesn’t matter that I still have my pajama pants on and that my hair is a bit askew. It’s how all the moms look. Well, except the ones going off to work. At least I don’t stand out as a mom who is a hot mess.

We walk into the school and to her class. The halls are filled with the artwork of little 4 year olds. All the teachers greet us as we walk to her class.

“Good morning Claire Bear! How would you like to be greeted today?” Asks her teacher.

She has a sign on the door. Do you want to be greeted with a wave, a handshake, high five, or a hug?

Claire Bear used to be so shy that she didn’t want to do anything. Now she loves her teacher so much that she always gives her a big hug. Her teacher really is awesome. She was made for the role of preschool teacher.

Image by Bayu Zulkarnain from Pixabay

She walks into the room with confidence and hangs up her coat and backpack with no problem. Her best friend comes to see her and I say my good byes.

My daughter’s best friends are twin girls. Their mom is my oldest son’s teacher this year.