Wild Little Dreams

11

—3 Years later—
August 17, 2011

All of a sudden, their baby was 5 years old and the first day of school had snuck up on them. Kamryn was starting Kindergarten and neither of them was ready, but Kamryn definitely was. She was so smart for her age and as much as they had worked with each child at Kam's preschool so they knew colors, numbers, shapes, and everything in between.

"You wanna get her up?" Jay asked Hailey, who was still half asleep after the alarm went off.

"Yeah, I'll get her. Will you make her favorite waffles?" She asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"You mean your favorite waffles?" Jay chuckled, finally sitting up and getting out of bed. He looked in on their 5-year-old who was still sound asleep in her bed before he went down and started making the waffles for his family.

Hailey got out of bed and got herself ready before she went into Kam's bedroom and gently shook the little girl.

"Kam, time to get up baby," Hailey told her, getting up to pick a cute outfit for her to wear for her first day of kindergarten.

"Mommy I wanna sleep," She mumbled, rubbing her eyes as she rolled over and tried to pull her covers up again.

"I know baby but it's a big day! It's your first day of school!" Hailey smiled, trying to hide how sad she actually was. Her baby was growing up right before her eyes. "Daddy's making your favorite waffles,"

"With the chocolate chips?" She asked, turning so she was facing Hailey again.

"Mhm. Will you get up for those?" She asked, sitting on the bed as Kam crawled into her lap.

"I guess," She mumbled, rubbing her eyes as she leaned against Hailey and slowly woke up.

"Alright let's get ready and we'll go eat with daddy okay?" She told her, kissing her head before they got up and started to get ready.

Hailey helped her get her cute little outfit on before they went and brushed her teeth. Hailey pulled her hair into a cute, bouncy ponytail, complete with her favorite bow before they headed downstairs.

"Good morning little kindergartener!" Jay smiled, lifting Kamryn above his head as she laughed.

"Daddy put me down!" She giggled, hugging him tightly as he lowered her.

"We got a pretty big day coming huh?"  He asked, finishing the waffles before he took them to the table with Kamryn on his hip.

"Are you and mama gonna come get me?" She asked as Jay sat her in her normal chair at the table.

"Of course Kam," Hailey nodded, cutting up some of the waffle for her so it was easier to eat.

The girl nodded and ate her waffles with a smile as her parents went over everything that she would do that day. Kamryn was becoming more excited for the day as they talked about it.

"You ready kiddo?" Jay asked, lifting her out of the chair and putting her down on the floor. "Go get your backpack,"

Kamryn smiled and ran to the other room and grabbed her new backpack that they had bought just days before.

"Alright kid, mommy's car or daddy's truck?" Jay asked, holding her hand as they walked out to the driveway.

"Mommy's car!" She giggled, running over to the 4Runner.

"She's made her decision," Hailey chuckled as she went over and opened the back door, helping Kamryn get in and buckle her seatbelt.

They all headed to the school where all the parents were able to come in for the first day and help get their children settled.

They took a few pictures by the kindergarten sign, one with Kamryn alone and one with both parents.

"Alright baby girl, we're gonna go to work but we will be here when the little hand is on the 3 and the big hand is on the 6. That's 3:30, Okay?" Hailey told her, pointing to the clock on the wall.

"Will it go fast?" She asked, looking at Hailey with tears welling up.

"So fast baby girl," she nodded, "No tears, you can do this,"

"I'm gonna miss you!" She mumbled, holding the tears back as she hugged Hailey tightly and then Jay.

"I know it's all different baby, but you're gonna be okay. You're our strong little girl, yeah?" Jay said as he accepted the young child and hugged her close.

"I be strong daddy," she nodded, wiping her tears as Jay set her down.

"We'll be back in a few hours," Hailey promised, kissing her cheek one last time as she squatted to Kamryn's level. "We love you,"

"Love you too," she nodded, hugging Hailey again and Jay's leg.

"Bye sweet pea,"

Jay and Hailey both left and split off to their own districts. Hailey was a bit emotional as her baby was growing up and had just tackled a milestone.

——————

Kamryn had been playing and found a few little friends to play with all day but she was always watching the clock to see how long until her mom would come to pick her up. She was at her lunch when she unpacked her little lunch box and found a note that she couldn't read so she raised her hand and her teacher came over to see what was going on.

"Hey, Kamryn, what's going on?" She asked as Kamryn handed her the little note.

"What does this say?" She asked, looking at the words on the little page.

"It says, 'Hope you're having a great day. We miss you and we love you. Love mommy and daddy,'" She told her, setting it back down.

"Thank you," She smiled, setting the note back in her lunch box and eating her packed lunch. They had packed her current favorite of Mac n Cheese, pears, baby carrots, and some Oreos. She ate her lunch and soon was back in her classroom, looking at the clock to see how much longer.

Only 3 more hours!