School Boy

So today was the big day...Seamus' first day of Pre-K! He is attending Sacred Heart School. This school is very special to me, it was also my elementary school. My mother (Mrs. Donohue) has been a teacher there for over twenty years, and she is now assistant principal. Devon (Mr. C) has taught there for five years, and my aunt (Mrs. Engelke) is Seamus' teacher! So it is quite the family affair.

The really great thing is that it's a very small, close-knit school, and all of the students who attend are fully aware of who Seamus is, and that he has dwarfism. They think it's cool! When my kids and I drop by the school to visit, you would think that the Jonas Brothers had just arrived in Troy, NY..."SEAMUS AND GRACE ARE HERE!! WooHoo!!" Then the mad rush out into the hallways to see who can pick up Grace first, and who can give Seamus a high-five first. They pretty much disregard me, because who the heck am I? Sometimes I'll overhear them saying,

"These are Mr. C's kids."

"No, they are Mrs. Donohue's kids."

"Well, Mrs. Donohue and Mr. C are married."

"No, Mrs. Donohue is Mr. C's mom!"

Oh, I love it. They are so funny! They don't quite understand the idea of in-laws yet, all they know is that Seamus and Grace both somehow belong to both Mr.C and Mrs. Donohue!

And it never fails...at least one of the younger students will come up to me and say, "You know what? Seamus is a little person...he won't grow to be very tall." So then of course I act surprised, "Really? Wow!" But they are just so accepting. It's such a reassuring feeling to know that these classmates will be growing up with him, and hopefully the difference in their sizes will never matter.

So here is the official first day of school pic:

He was very grumpy about having his picture taken!

But then he was very happy about the surprise trip to Dunkin Donuts for a blueberry donut!

Here he is getting ready to go up to his classroom. I remember when he was tiny and thinking, wow, someday he'll be going off to school. I wanted him to stay a baby forever, and now he's growing up and becoming a little boy.

Godspeed, little man.