No Ordinary Joe

I'm sitting at Bongo Java, listening to a Trampled By Turtles playlist on Spotify, wondering how I got here.

In approximately 20 minutes, Jude will drop Joe off at Children's House for his first day of school.  And so it ends.  And so it begins.

Gone is the age of true innocence for Joe, when most of his days involved Carley, Maghan, Grandma and Grandpa and whatever it was that he wanted to do next.  Play in the sandbox, go for a walk, listen to Thomas the Train music, go the playground, call Jonny Love, go outside (at our Elliott Avenue house), take an nap, have some milk or snack or, more recently, play games (Candyland, Guess Who, War, Hullabuloo, etc.).  In essence, the world revolved around Joe, or so it seemed to him, anyway, at least during the day when J.P. was at school.

That all changes today.  While I love - and I mean LOVE - Children's House and all it provided for J.P. and will provide for Joe, I'm still sad that Joe has reached the end of a long line of seemingly endless days of living life in the safety of his own home are at an end.  The flip side, of course, is that starting this morning, the world is going to open up for him in a landscape of endless possibilities.  I take comfort in that, but still, I can't shake the nagging feeling that something will be lost this morning when he walks through the doors of the school.

I wonder what Joe will think - what he will feel - when Jude drops him off 15 minutes from now.  I have no idea, obviously, of the thoughts he's capable of forming or the emotions he's capable of feeling, beyond happiness, excitement, sadness, anger, fright, etc.  The basics.  I don't know how nuanced his ability to think and feel actually is at 3 1/2 years of age.

I do know, however, Joe is an extraordinary young boy.  He's so verbal, intelligent, funny, stubborn, shy at times, strong willed and athletic.  When he smiles and laughs - which is often - he literally lights up the room.  He has a vivid imagination.  He seems to have an inner sense of self confidence, although it's hard to put my finger on why I feel that way.  He loves sports, especially baseball.  I guess that's natural, since he's accompanied J.P. to virtually every practice or game he's had since the day he was born.

After today, Joe's life will be irrevocably changed.  Sure, he's gone a couple of days a week to play school at West End United Methodist Church the past year, but Children's House is different.  It's more structured.  There are rules.  There will be learning.  There will be lots of playground time.  And there will be lots of others children, his age and older (4 and 5).  He will be around the teachers and children in Classroom B almost every day for the next two years.  His world will expand to include Children's House and that will become a vital part of his life and development.  And I know that's a good thing.

(As an aside, I have to mention that "Alone" by Trampled by Turtles is playing right now.  That has always been Joe's favorite "Turtles" song, by far.  We have a video of him singing along to that song, in my truck, a couple of  years ago as we left Gentry Farm on a glorious fall Saturday).

He's ready, I think.  I'm waiting on the call from Jude any minute now, so she can give me a full report on how Joe did at the dropoff.  Will he cry?  Will he not want to get out of the car?  Or will he hop right out and walk inside on his own, not looking back, like J.P. did four years ago?  I was the one that cried that day, actually.

God blessed me with a second son when I least expected it.  And now, today, I'm blessed again as Joe takes an important step in his life's walk to wherever it is that he's going.  It's an honor and a privilege to be along of the ride.