August 22, 2011: Brooke's First Day of School

I was pretty sure I was going to be a basket case of emotions on this morning.  I tossed and turned all night dreading the coming morning.  In the morning I would hand my first born off to start her journey in the public school system.  Funny thing that isn't what I was scared about.  Most of my nightmares that night were of grubby peanut butter faced kids running around contaminating every square inch of the school...

Truthfully I was excited for her to go to school.  She loves school.  

Even though I am going to miss that little precious face like crazy.  

Barbie backpack and Hello Kitty lunch box.

Her "locker."

And right about here is where she lost it.  

She got misty eyed and was choking back tears.

Daddy was able to calm her down and after we said our goodbyes we headed out.  

When we got in the car Brian said "Wow, you did pretty good in there.  I thought you would have been bawling by now."  Then he turned and looked at me. I lost it.  I sobbed all the way home.

I don't think my phone left my hand all day.  I was convinced that she was going to go into full anaphylaxis on the very first day from peanut exposure.  Every time my phone rang, my heart stopped.  Somehow the we made it to 3:15 and all was well.  All except my blood pressure that is.  

I must say my fears have eased quite a bit since that first day.  We've met with her teacher who is amazing about helping us work around her allergy and the nurse who is so on top of it too.  I have to say it's been a pretty good experience so far.  I was really worried because I have heard horror stories from families who have peanut allergic children.  So far so good though.  

She even has two other little girls who are allergic to peanuts in her grade.  They all sit together at a peanut free table and their friends can sit there with them too if they get their lunch checked by a teacher.  Brooke has even told me that they had to set a limit of how many kids can sit at the table and that all her friends have to take turns because everyone wants to sit there.  This makes me so happy.  I had huge anxiety that she would be "that weird girl that sits by herself."  But I worried for nothing!  Why do I do that to myself?