Empty Nest
No, not the series with Kristy McNichol. Although I used to watch it.
Actually, I'm talking about school starting in the fall. It seems strange to think of all three girls being in school, especially when only one was in school last year. Not that this is a surprise, mind you; we've known all along that Heather would be starting preschool this fall. We had her readiness assessment back in the spring, and she's talked of little else since.
We've even known that Kelly's in-home therapies would stop on her third birthday, and that any further therapies would take place in a school-type setting. But until our meeting with the public-school representative last week, it never really sank in that she would be going to school. Now I have a folder full of papers about the transportation policies, how to dress her, what school supplies she'll need.... She even needs a backpack. *sniffle*
I have no worries about Heather going to school. No worries for her sake, that is -- I am a little concerned for her teacher's sake. My only concern for Janna is that I hope she becomes good friends with someone in her class this year. This has never been a problem until last year, when her best friend from the year before had moved away and she just didn't seem to have any especially close friends for most of the year. I think there were things going on in the custody front that contributed to this, but it was still saddening to see that she never had a "best friend" last year. I hope that changes this year.
No, my biggest worries are for Kelly. Rather, my biggest worries are for myself, but they're regarding Kelly. It's somewhat unnerving to think that you're sending your child to a place where you don't know how well she'll understand what's going on, you can't be there to watch her, and you can't ask her afterwards how everything went. Also, I just like being involved in the kids' lives, and being able to watch them when they're in a classroom setting or playing with their friends. And then there's the whole busing thing: I'm sure I won't be able to explain to her why Mommy is putting her in a strange car and sending her away. How many days will it be before she understands that she's going to school? Will she be traumatized in the meantime?
I guess this is why moms cry when their kids first start school. I was excited for Janna and Heather to start school, so I never really understood the phenomenon of parents getting emotional about it. But now I can empathize.
On a lighter note: Kelly has started getting the grapes out of the refrigerator and bringing them to me when she wants to eat them. Which is always. After 2-3 small bowls of grapes, I have to start telling her "no," so today she has been experimenting with ways to weasel around that. She has tried handing me the bag of grapes and saying "more grapes." She has tried handing me the bag and saying "thank you." And after those methods stopped working for her, she just took the grapes from the refrigerator, sat down on the kitchen floor, and helped herself. If she doesn't ask me, I can't tell her no, right?
Actually, I'm talking about school starting in the fall. It seems strange to think of all three girls being in school, especially when only one was in school last year. Not that this is a surprise, mind you; we've known all along that Heather would be starting preschool this fall. We had her readiness assessment back in the spring, and she's talked of little else since.
We've even known that Kelly's in-home therapies would stop on her third birthday, and that any further therapies would take place in a school-type setting. But until our meeting with the public-school representative last week, it never really sank in that she would be going to school. Now I have a folder full of papers about the transportation policies, how to dress her, what school supplies she'll need.... She even needs a backpack. *sniffle*
I have no worries about Heather going to school. No worries for her sake, that is -- I am a little concerned for her teacher's sake. My only concern for Janna is that I hope she becomes good friends with someone in her class this year. This has never been a problem until last year, when her best friend from the year before had moved away and she just didn't seem to have any especially close friends for most of the year. I think there were things going on in the custody front that contributed to this, but it was still saddening to see that she never had a "best friend" last year. I hope that changes this year.
No, my biggest worries are for Kelly. Rather, my biggest worries are for myself, but they're regarding Kelly. It's somewhat unnerving to think that you're sending your child to a place where you don't know how well she'll understand what's going on, you can't be there to watch her, and you can't ask her afterwards how everything went. Also, I just like being involved in the kids' lives, and being able to watch them when they're in a classroom setting or playing with their friends. And then there's the whole busing thing: I'm sure I won't be able to explain to her why Mommy is putting her in a strange car and sending her away. How many days will it be before she understands that she's going to school? Will she be traumatized in the meantime?
I guess this is why moms cry when their kids first start school. I was excited for Janna and Heather to start school, so I never really understood the phenomenon of parents getting emotional about it. But now I can empathize.
On a lighter note: Kelly has started getting the grapes out of the refrigerator and bringing them to me when she wants to eat them. Which is always. After 2-3 small bowls of grapes, I have to start telling her "no," so today she has been experimenting with ways to weasel around that. She has tried handing me the bag of grapes and saying "more grapes." She has tried handing me the bag and saying "thank you." And after those methods stopped working for her, she just took the grapes from the refrigerator, sat down on the kitchen floor, and helped herself. If she doesn't ask me, I can't tell her no, right?
posted by Lisa | 6:14 PM
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