First Day (A Mom's Perspective)

Okay, today I feel like that crazy Mom that no-one ever sets out to be, but somehow ends up there anyway. Of course yesterday was Noah's first day of school. When we arrived at the school, I was a nervous wreck. I was trying to hold it together so that my anxiety would not be apparent to Noah (who by the way was so excited himself that he probably would not have noticed if I fell to the ground writhing from despair that I was sending my firstborn off to school). As we waited outside for the doors to open (yes, we were THAT early!) I noticed a lady about my age watching me. She seemed vaguely familiar but I was really concentrating on not crying in front of Noah, so I did not give it much thought.
As the doors opened, I reached into my purse to grab the camera for one last picture before entering the school. I got the camera out, turned to tell Noah to smile, and realized he was gone! I looked around and saw Noah halfway between me and the school...running towards the open doors!!! (Come on...is home life really that bad?) That brought a laugh and held the tears at bay for a while. When I finally caught up with Noah he had already hung his backpack on his designated hook, found the seat with his name on it and was sitting down waiting for class to start. I saw him sitting there and could not hold back the tears any longer. I called out goodbye, blew him a kiss and hurried out of the classroom.
When I got back out into the hallway, I literally ran into the lady that had been staring at me earlier. She stepped back and said "Are you Denise?" At that point I realized she was a girl that I had gone to school with from K-5 up until 7th grade. We had been best friends many many years ago. Now let me say here that this person has not crossed my mind for probably fifteen years. It is not like we weren't on speaking terms, but I wasn't pining for my long lost best friend or anything either. When we got outside the door, I reached out, hugged her, and cried like a baby. I am so embarrassed that I did that, I mean I hugged and cried on a lady that I had not seen in nearly twenty years! Turns out she was dropping her son off for his first day of school as well and we were probably experiencing some of the same emotions.
I can't help but wonder what Noah would have thought had he looked out the window of his classroom at that moment. No wonder the child was running toward school... he has a crazy woman for a mother. I also wonder what my childhood friend is thinking. I am going to be seeing a lot of her this year if she is active in the school. Not a problem for me, I will enjoy getting reacquainted with her, but I wonder if she will feel the need guard her "personal space" or to bring tissues to PTO meetings.
Yes, I believe that somehow I have ended up being that crazy mom...the one I swore I would never be!