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This morning my husband woke me up at five a.m. because he had a leg cramp. As I tried to massage his calf muscle, I heard the dog throw up by the foot of the bed, and then the baby started to fuss, and that, my friends, is why I drink coffee religiously.
I'm sure someday I'll miss the days when I wander around Costco trying to find dish soap and simultaneously field 3 year old questions about emergency doors. I will probably-maybe look back with fondness on the days like today, where Shel asked me quite loudly if the woman in front of us was "a little bit old or a lot old".
But...until I can look back at these days fondly, I'm just going to cling desperately to my sense of humor.
The reason I gathered you here today wasn't to complain about my errands, my barfing dog, and my sons lack of decorum when it comes to the grey haired set. I wanted to document the first ever "Back to School Night" for both of the boys. This might be boring for you, but it's fun for me. If I don't write it down I'll forget it. Today when I got onto the freeway I pushed the garage door opener. I don't know why. Probably not enough fiber in my diet or something. The point is, I need to write this stuff down.
I planned to represent the family well and look like one of those cool moms who wear makeup and cut their toenails, but I pooped out and took a nap instead. No regrets, but my untrimmed eyebrows were a tad embarrassing.
The first stop was Q's Pre-K class, The Busy Bees. It was very business-like with a class turtle named Cecil and a lot of interesting art work. Q had drawn a picture of himself on his first day of Pre-K. He had drawn a face with craggy teeth and buggy eyes. He looked frightened and dinosaur-like, and I loved it. I learned a few things as I read the "About Me" section:
He wants to be a dentist.
His favorite foods are ice-cream, m&ms, chocolate, and plums.
He also decided it was important to note that his mother does NOT have a race car.
I took my minivan driving self over to the Friendly Frogs class, where Shel's theology stood out among the rest. He had been asked, "What does God want me to be?"
His classmates answered, "Color" and, "Big like Carson".
Shel told his teacher that God wanted him "to walk the dog in the front yard by himself without an adult".
I asked how Shel was doing and his teacher told me a little story I never want to forget. I will probably tell this at his wedding:
The class sings a song about a roaring bear, and they run-run-run away from it. There are a lot of hand motions involved, and of course, a bit of roaring. Song time was over, but the children didn't want to stop singing the bear song. The teacher told the children that they could do the bear song by themselves, so she turned on the music and walked away.
Sheldon went over to the teacher's chair, sat in it, and proceeded to direct the entire class in three rounds of the bear song. To get 19 little three year olds to sing a song together takes leadership sprinkled with a miracle. I may not have been well groomed, but I was proud.
I miss them when they're gone, but I'm glad they're giving someone else a chance to hear their stories and explain why they can't have a lollipop for lunch. Having them gone makes me extra grateful when they are here, and possibly helps me handle the days when no one stops talking...ever.
So far having two little learners and a baby with a head cold is great fun. How was back to school for you?
