Middlesex Elementary School (MES) was buzzing with activity Monday morning for the first day of school.
There were emotional goodbyes at the main entrance. Mothers and fathers watched their children go in the main door. A few mothers followed their children with their eyes until they were gone from sight. Their faces showed the strain of letting go. “This is nerve-wracking for me,” said Allison Parks of Urbanna after her daughter Lailoni Fells had entered the school.
Melissa Ranger of Saluda crouched down next to her son Wesley and kissed him on the cheek. Wesley, 3.5 years old, who was going into pre-kindergarten, went into the school with his older brother Jesse, who is in second grade. There were no tears as Melissa walked away from the school entrance; they would happen when she was alone, she said.
