A Chipmunk and a Seahorse

Yesterday Charlotte had some quiet time in her room. About 10 minutes into it, she came out with red dots all over her arms, legs, and face. Astonished, I asked her what in world possessed her to do that. She burst into heartbreaking tears and said, "I'm too sick to go to school tomorrow!". I explained that I knew it was marker dots and not chicken pox. She cried even harder and said, "I'm just too nervous.".

This came as quite a surprise to Judd and me. The child is ultra confident. We explained that she knew some kids in her class and that she was going to be just fine. She seemed to feel much better about the whole thing this morning. She was excited to get dressed and ready for the day.

Max, however, did not want to hear the word "school" this morning. He would say, "No", anytime you asked him if he was ready, etc. He did get dressed OK and was excited to have his bag and his new Mickey Mouse sippy cup to take. I was feeling somewhat hopefully that he wouldn't completely lose it.

Charlotte is in a 5 day Pre-K class, the Seahorses. Max, is in a 2 day toddler class, the Chipmunks. Since he'll be two in a couple of months (what??) I thought he could go ahead and start this year. Also, my part time web development job has become something that requires a fixed schedule. So, now I have two mornings a week to devote. Also, I have someone to come watch him on Wednesday mornings. It works out well. I still have two mornings a week with Max, and will spend every afternoon with the kids. I'm excited about it.

Max was fine this morning until we got to his classroom door, then he lost it. I just kinda pushed him in and walked away. I walked Charlotte up to her class. She walked through the school like she owned the place, waving and saying "Hi" to all of the teachers. All of the nervousness seemed to have vanished. I kissed her goodbye and went back downstairs. I could hear a very familiar high pitched scream coming from Max's room. I knew who it was. I stood there for a second debating my decision to put him in this year. All I wanted to do was be with him. Hug him. Take him away. A friend walked up and said, "Is that Max?". I said, "Yes." She said, "Just go, don't stand here." So, I did.

Turns out he did just fine. He had a hard time with transitions - from room to playground, playground to room - but overall had a good day. I'm so thankful for that.

Charlotte had a great day and was in good spirits as well. I had no doubt that she would be fine, though.