Getting Little L. to School
Little L. just turned four and getting her ready for school each morning is NOT easy.
This morning went something like this:
5:45am "Mommy! I need to be with you!" Little L. shouts in my ear as she climbs into bed on top of me.
6:00am "Mommy! Why aren't you awake yet! I need to be with you!" I roll over, groan. "I'm getting up," I say. I'm not, really. But maybe if I tell her I am she'll be peaceful for a few more minutes.
6:10am "Mommmm--yyyyy! I'm hungry! Wake up! I need you!" This time I roll out of bed, slowly. Very slowly.
6:15am
We head downstairs to the kitchen. "What would you like for breakfast?" I ask.
"Toast with butter...AND peanut butter," is L.'s response.
"You get that from your daddy," I say. She does. B. loves butter and peanut butter combined.
"Come sit right next to me," demands L. as she pulls my chair right next to hers so that they're touching.
6:30am We go back upstairs to L.'s room to get dressed, brush teeth, battle to brush L.'s hair (resulting in only sort-of brushed hair).
7:15 Yes, it really does take us forty-five minutes to get our child dressed in the morning. Don't judge. Finally, we put on shoes and coats and backpacks and climb in the car.
7:30 In the car, L. tells me she doesn't want to go to school. She wants to stay home. She wants to be with Mommy. She wants to be with Daddy. She wants to play. The more she says, the more my heart sinks. I desperately want my little girl to love school. I desperately don't want to feel guilty about going to work, but I do. By the time we're at school I have a headache.
8:00 We arrive at school. Amazingly, L. skips down the sidewalk to the front door, holding my hand and chirping away happily about nothing in particular. She hops up the steps to her classroom, and... most amazingly she hangs up her coat, switches into her 'inside shoes' and puts her lunchbox away all by herself.
8:05 "Bye Mommy!" L. wraps her arms around me and gives me a goodbye squeeze, and amazingly, miraculously, skips off happily into her classroom without a single tear, not even a peep or a whimper. I sigh a huge sigh of relief as I head out the door to start my day.
I remember those days - the tears and anguish turning to smiles of anticipation as soon as they walked through the school doors. It ends happily, though - good thing!
ReplyDeleteThis is my life, too! The heart sinking.... oh, every morning. And I definitely wasn't judging.... it takes my 4 year old and I one hour to leave the house on school days!
ReplyDeleteLife through a four year old's eyes....it doesn't get any better than that!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad Dana read this. She's been writing about a lot of similar stuff over on her blog.
ReplyDeleteYour early morning reminds me of why I still have Isabelle in a crib (even though she's in a big girl bed when we visit my parents' house). I can't handle being woken up by someone standing over me in the mornings. At least not yet.
Finally, one more thing about the hair brushing. We can't even brush Isabelle's hair because of the curls. Seriously, I don't even brush it. You can only imagine the battles we had when I tried. Maybe a short 'do is in Lily's future...
I know what this is like with my twin 3 and a half year olds! Some mornings are difficult. And that guilt trip. How are they so smart to figure it out? Yet, once they are at school, all is good? I'm amazed at how our little ones think about the world. Thanks for sharing L.'s insights!
ReplyDelete