Remember the excitement of the first day of school? I'd lay awake at night thinking of what the year would be like. Which of my friends would be in my class(es)? Would Johnny so-and-so still be the class hearthrob? Which of my new outfits should I wear? Will I be able to make it from Science class to English on the other side of the building in 3 minutes?

My daughters are years from worrying about hearthrobs or traveling time between classes, but their excitement was obvious when they trotted down the stairs at 6 a.m. this morning with their fancy dresses in hand, eager for their first day of preschool.

Actually, it was only an orientation day, but they made no distinction -- they were going to school!

Kelly is in her 3rd year of preschool. She made the cut-off (her b-day is late July) and could've got to Kindergarten this year, but we felt it was better (as did her preschool teacher) to put her in 5-day preschool this year. So, Kelly has been telling her little sister Lauren all about school (little sis is going 3 days a week) -- the exact order of business (First, playtime, then clean up, then calendar time, then art time ....) And, informing her of all the rules (You have to sit and listen to your teacher....).

My fearless Lauren had no qualms about separating from Mom or Grandma. She bounded into Mrs. Z's classroom -- eager to finally be able to play with all the toys she'd seen the other kids play with when we used to drop off and pick up Kelly in the last school year.

I fear Mrs. Z will have her hands full with Lauren. She's a spitfire with ants in her pants. "Lauren, sit down" may become the most-used phrase in her classroom. But, then, maybe it's just because I'm comparing her to her quite, shy older sister.

Kelly, too, was thrilled to go back to school. Many of the kids from her class last year are going to 5-day and she knows her teacher and most of the kids in her class already. She's comfortable there and will surely blossom this year. I'm excited just thinking of all the cool things she'll learn this year (how to tell time, basic math, reading!) and am now confident that I made the right decision (to put her in 5-day rather than Kindergarten).

So both girls were thrilled to be at school and could've cared less about leaving me and grandma in the hall wondering how this all happened so fast. Where did my babies go?

Before I know it I'll be dropping them off at college.