On Sunday, the day before, we had been out all day and all night. No doubt was it a blast but more activity than Nui Nui is used to.
Getting Nui Nui ready for school entails sweeping her out of her crib and onto the changing table to change her supersoaked diaper. Ok, maybe 'sweep' is an exaggeration— my guns are meager, she's in the 100%ile for height, nearly 30 pounds...
My goal is not to wake her up but to get her ready and dressed for school. In fact, I try not to wake her up so she can sleep as long as possible. But, on a typical day, either upon the landing on the changing table or the crackling of opening up her diaper, she inevitably does. It's the sweetest arousal too— her eyes crack open and blink, she scans and sees her books and then me, and then cracks the sunniest of smiles, indicating a good night's rest.
On Monday, these series of events did not happen. Put her on the changing table. Nothing. Changed her diaper. Nothing. Put on her jacket, socks, and shoes. Nothing. Put her in her stroller. Nothing. Put her in the car seat. Nothing. Drove her to school. Nothing. Opened the car door. Nothing.
It wasn't until I started unbuckling her, with the loud swooshes of the passing cars and cool early-morning air, did she finally lift her head and wake.
The girl was exhausted and though I would have liked her to sleep, I also know she has to get used to this sort of thing because she has a whole life ahead of her of waking up early and, surely, I'm not, or wasn't at least, the best example for her, clocking in an average 12 hrs of sleep on weekends as a kid. < insert > My mom complaining she just only turned two < /insert >. :>
When I parked the car (and she was still sleeping), I thought I might have to figure out a way to let her lie down in the classroom but she was up. Maybe the extra 1/2 hour actually did the trick.
When we went inside the school, though, she was a little more clingy than usual, even dropping to her knees, showing no desire to play with the other kids. The teacher helped her join the group and she didn't cry or fuss, so I left. As a continuously-naive parent, I thought, Great, all's well. She's learning the routine and comfortable in her new school. Fa la la la la!
Until I come back to school and read her daily notes.
Personally, my day went well— I worked and accomplished a decent amount (don't ask me what that was but I could have swore I did :>)— Nui Nui's day, on the other hand, went a little something like this:
She learned about police officers...
She made a badge and bounced some balls...
And... she didn't follow directions but did help others with proper slide etiquette.
It's funny how much I value these little daily notes.. and take them way too seriously. But they are practically the only insight you get as a parent regarding how your kid's day went at school.
I couldn't shake my focus off the exclamation point and sad face.
I spoke with one of the teachers and she reaffirmed that, that was what happened but the exclamation point was trivial. [Insert humorous post about misinterpreting written/typed text].
As an extreme analyst, my passing thoughts (and answers) included:
- As an only child, is she spoiled? I rationalized No. But can I trust myself to answer that without bias?
- Does she do what we say? For the most part yes. Not always, obviously, but, to her credit, she is only two.
- Is she going to be kicked out? I don't know. Do they do that?
- Do all the other kids follow all direction? I voiced that thought and apparently they do. They do?
- What the heck am I doing wrong? And what can I do to fix it? I have no idea.
This is what our atypical car ride looked like:
Potty and shower time went fine when we got home.
She didn't eat much for dinner though she normally eats a lot after a long day at school.
She went to bed early— down before 9pm. She was even the one who initated the action (to bed). The girl was tired.
But the damn mucus/phlegm woke her and made her throw up some.
Poor baby.
What I learned and took from the day:
- AVOID MARATHONS on days before school.
- Likewise, incorporate more physical activity in her daily routine to help her BUILD STAMINA.
- Germy germies affect your kids in more ways than one. Not only are they physically uncomfortable/disturbed but their moods and behavior are also adversely affected. IT'S THE GERMS, NOT YOUR KID
- Likewise, IT'S THE GERMS, NOT YOU.
- KEEP COMMUNICATION OPEN with the people at school. [I'm writing this to eat my own words. I have still yet to ask (and haven't yet out of fear) but should find out what the school policies are if I'm worried about her getting kicked out. Because, on the slim chance that she does, I'll be better prepared.]
- TALK TO YOUR KIDS. I make this a point. In other words, keep communication open with your kids. The more you are open with your kids the better. Or that's what I think, anyway. It lets them know what's up because they might be unaware. It helps you figure out from them what's going on. It enables the both of you to help each other. And, hopefully, it gives them practice to do the same as they grow older and the issues become more complex.
- DON'T OVERANALYZE or take everything too seriously. Keep calm and carry on. Seriously, keep moving. Laugh, including at yourself. This might just be an issue I personally struggle with but, as a parent, I find it sometimes takes double the effort with two. Non-analyst parents, does this happen at all to you as a parent? I'm curious
- And remember: LOVE them with all your heart and the rest will follow. [Great words/Words to live by, from a dear friend and great dad].
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