Excited and Nervous all at the same time

I was doing my ususal internet checking and was reading one of my favorite blogs here and feeling so much better about this leap that Maddie will be taking this week into kindergarten. It is crazy and exciting and I know I will cry while she is gone and feel like I have a shadow missing. For the last month and a half all I have heard from Maddie is "When will school be starting? Is it time for school yet? Who will be my teacher? Do I get to go to school tomorrow Mom?" Finally a couple of weeks ago a letter from the school letting us know her teachers name, the Back to School night and the time of day she will get to go showed up. Finally something to keep her entertained and at least answer some of her questions!! We even went into her room to her calendar and put stickers on the day she will start school, the Back to School night to meet her teacher and even the day she is starting her dance class. (That is a story in and of itself-we'll get to that!) Every day she has been going in and counting the days and comes running out to tell me just exactly how many days until she is a big girl going to school. That is until I got another letter from her school yesterday. For some crazy reason, only a parent is allowed to attend Back to School night. She isn't allowed to go. Stupid. And then the next day that is supposed to be her "BIG DAY!" is only a 40 minute pre-assigned time "treasure hunt" of her classroom and at the end she will meet her teacher for the first time. You are not to bring any other children when you come with her to help her with the scavenger hunt. It almost seemed like a kidnappers ransom note. "You will come alone...no one else may come with you!!!" So I had to sit her down and explain to her that the back to school night was just a night for Mom or Dad to go over to her school and meet her teacher and that the next day she wouldn't get up and go to school for the full time but that we would go together and that the next day she would be able to go to school all by herself. She was excited about the treasure hunt but clearly confused that I would have to be with her on her first day. I am sure they do this for those traumatized "don't leave me here by myself" kids. But Maddie has been ready for this step for a LONG time. Oh well...she will be in school before I know it! She says that this next week will be the best week ever because she starts school, we find out if we are having a boy or a girl, and my parents are coming down to bring Michelle down for college. It will be a busy week ahead of us but I would rather be busy than going crazy with boredom!!!