A mum summed up bravery for her daughter AFTER her first day at school and it's incredible
Getting your children to school going age is an accomplishment in itself, and you cannot wait.
Every fibre in your being has been waiting for this day to come around since they could walk and talk.
And the day comes. And you're an absolute mess.
Because you may have been waiting for this day to come, but in reality you're not ready for it. You were never ready for it.
Those four or five hours they were in school were the longest of your life, they were filled with a longing to have your children back in your arms, not of the happy silence you once imagined.
But those hours are life changing for your child too; some cry, some become shy in their new surroundings, some don't bat an eyelid and more champion that classroom like they already own it.
However, when Rasha Rushdy's toddler had a think about her day, we came to realise how much children really do take notice when they're thrust into new surroundings.
Rasha's toddler started her first day of school without a single hiccup, Mum was prepared for the tears and tantrums, but they never came.
Instead it was Mum who was upset with the momentary departure, but the reunion, that was everything she wanted and more.
Rasha writes: "Your eyes searched for me the moment you walked out of your classroom today. Your face broke into a wide smile, the kind that makes your right dimple peek through."
"You ran towards me and threw your arms around my neck. I don’t know who was more excited about our reunion after four hours."
Her four-year-old carried craft pieces she had made during her time in the classroom, proudly displaying her work to her equally proud mum.
"When people ask me how you’re doing, I tell them with an air of relief how easily you’ve gotten into the swing of things; how you haven’t cried for me once and how glad I am that you’re taking it all in your stride."
But when Rasha exclaimed that they can stick her pieces on their fridge, her daughter's mood instantly changed, her lip quivered, her eyes watered, raising her arms to be carried without saying the words.
She never once cried though, those tears didn't pass her lids, with a confused Rasha asking if everything was OK on their way home, and when she did, the mum-of-two ended up teaching her daughter a classic lesson about bravery.
"As we started driving home, I told you how much I missed you this morning, and how happy I was that we were going to spend the whole afternoon and evening together."
"You looked out the window as you spoke, 'some kids at school want to cry sometimes'."
Quizzing her daughter about the events of the day, asking if someone cried or if her daughter ever felt like crying, her four-year-old reassured her mum she never cried, but that sometimes other children miss their mums.
"I felt a tug deep in my chest. I started to see where this was going."
"It’s okay if they cry. It can be hard being away from their mums, even if they’re having a lot of fun. It’s a big change starting school, you know," the mum explained to her tot.
Within an instant her daughter's face relaxed with the reassurance from her mum that it is OK to cry sometimes, but still she insisted she was incredibly brave, as again, she never cried.
And while Mum agrees she was brave, she also believes bravery doesn't just mean you didn't cry: "Maybe it was enough for you, realising that I knew how brave you were being."
"Maybe it was enough that I told you it was okay to feel like you need to stop being strong for a minute, that you could always cry with me. […]I can tell how proud you are of all of the new things you’re learning."
Rasha can see how much her four-year-old is pushing herself; pushing to be brave, to rise up to something new but scary, giving her daughter some advice:
"I hope you know that being brave doesn’t just look like confident smiles and clear, loud voices. Being brave can also look like a quivering lip, a shaky stammer, and sometimes, being brave looks like needing to cry."
"And that's okay," concludes the mum-of-two, because she is right, sometimes being brave is admitting you're hurting, even if it is just a teeny bit.
Make sure your tots know it's OK to cry too, make sure you tell them you missed them today, because let's face it mums, we really did.