When I reached the pre-school with my father and Pari, I was very anxious.

On the other hand, Pari was excited to see the swings, flowers, cartoons everywhere, while it was just another day for my father who has already done this exercise of school admissions earlier on in his life.

Meeting the principal started on a calm note because we were called in within five minutes of our arrival. It actually worked in my favor because I didn’t get anytime to panic sitting in the parent’s shoes in a school premises to add fuel to my anxiety.

We were soon seated inside the principal’s office talking business. Just as we were to discuss at length the formalities required to have Pari admitted, the principal rang a bell asking one of the teachers to take Pari around the school. I was a bit hesitant and wanted to accompany my baby, but was instructed by the principal against it.

With my one eye glued on my baby through the glass window and the other busy reading the paperwork I tried to concentrate on what the principal was uttering. Fifteen minutes later, with paperwork sorted and my bucket full of questions answered, I eased out to realize Pari had yet not returned (much contrary to my expectations).

I tiptoed in the direction of the classroom where I had seen Pari go with the teacher just to find her seated on the bench with other kids and smiling while trying to follow what all was going on. Though Pari had no clue about the very concept of a school she was sure happy being there.

I soon returned back to the waiting area outside principal’s office where the principal asked me to wait for next ten minutes as the school was about to get over and she deemed it good to let Pari sit in class till then.

While I waited for the school to get over, I tried hard to swallow the fact that my child had neither resisted going away from me with a complete stranger and neither had raised an alarm as yet.

I know, as a parent I should have been proud with the wonderful way Pari had responded to the new environment but something inside me wasn’t quite at peace. The school bell rang marking the end of the day. I darted to the class where Pari was seated, just to find her smile and say goodbye to her teacher. Soon the kids walked out in a line. Pari too followed suit, like a duckling following mother duck.

I tried to stop her but she resisted. I tried to pick her up but she blatantly refused, much to my horror. I had to distract and tempt her with the idea of going shopping straight from there to get her back to the waiting area where my father had been sitting all this while. That’s when Pari spotted the many cute toys placed on a big side table.

Within no time Pari picked a handful of those squeaky rubber toys and refused to let go off them. After lot of coaxing I finally managed to return the toys and we all stepped out of the school premises in the next ten minutes.

The following hour was spent getting photographs clicked for her admission formalities and shopping for her school bag, school uniform, lunch box and the like.

I had initially planned on getting Pari to start school from the new year, but seeing to her enthusiastic response, her school principal asked to send Pari to school from the following day itself so that she gets enough time to get used to school before the school closes for a week’s winter break. The idea appealed to me as well and thus began Pari’s school journey.

Details about how was her first week at school, coming up in the following post.