Last week, I hosted a Snow Day Playdate with the Backyard Neighbor and the Next Door Neighbor - it was interesting because all 3 of our boys are going to Kindergarten this fall, yet none of them will be on the same schedule. We are doing Afternoon Kindergarten, the other neighbors are doing All Day Kindergarten and Morning Kindergarten, respectively. I am so grateful our school has such flexibility. Full Day Kindergarten simply would not work for us, but I like that parents such as my Backyard Neighbor have the option for Full Days.
This week, I am submitting the paperwork to enroll Anjali into pre-K. In the spot on the form for "Child's Fears" I could not resist my answer of "Her brother beating her to the last cookie." Seriously, if you want to watch my little girl lose her frocking mind? Just watch Arun beat her at anything - the sprint to the last cookie, the race to the car, the race to let the dog out of the crate, the race to the last puzzle piece. She is obnoxiously competitive.
I blame Manoj.
In the space for "Any special information that would help the person taking care of your child" I did refrain from writing "full body armor or at minimum, a fencing outfit". I held firm! See? I just might make a pitstop in purgatory instead of careening past on my way to hell. There is hope.
Oddly, I have my head and heart wrapped around the fact that Arun is going to Kindergarten in the fall. Fine. I am fine. Really! That kid is SO ready and he will turn 6 in October. Shove the little bugger out. I am done with him anyway. Tired, worn out model. I want upgrades! However, Anjali going the following fall? Is dicier because she is a summer baby and we aren't entirely sure if she will be ready for Kindergarten the following fall - which is why I have been thinking about the Kindergarten topic with her already, since I have to sign her up for pre-K now. This minute, in fact. Hurry, hurry, hurry!! Your child's entire educational future is at stake right this very minute.
Okay. In all seriousness, the director of her current school said that knowledge and language-wise, she will certainly be ready. What we are waiting on is the social maturity. So, for now, she will go on to pre-K and we will play the rest by ear. It is not the end of the world, either way. Really, it is not. But it cracks me up how easily one could jump the cliff and lose a few marbles over it.
It just seems early, I guess.
It takes my breath away at how quickly my babies are growing up.
The last time they sit in my lap for a snuggle, will I realize at that moment that it is the last time?
7 comments:
I really wish my district had those options for kindergarten, it broke my heart to send Drew to all day Kindergarten this year (he turned 5 end of april).... everyone said he was ready and he is thriving in kindergarten but Allie and I really miss him. Allie will start preschool in the fall, just two mornings a week and I am not prepared for all that..... they do grow up so fast.
You've got time on the snuggles, I promise. Boys especially seem to be snuggly longer. You've got at least a few more years of real snuggles.
My older two are turning 17 and 20 in the next two months and they are still very amenable to hugging their mom and would happily at least goof around and pretend to climb in a parental lap, at least until we begged not to be squished.
Don't start worrying about your second child and Kindergarten. Mini C has a November b-day, so she was totally ready for Kindergarten when the time came. Mini G has a May b-day, and well, not so much. After talking with his preschool teachers, observing him in class, and well, observing him here at home, we held him back a year. When it comes to knowing if you should send or not, you will know. I knew Mini G wasn't going to be ready from a maturity stand point. Oh, we still talked to everyone, weighed the pros and cons, and in the end, we knew what the right decision for our child was.
Give her this year to grow and mature. If she does, as sometimes girls do, great. If not, you get to go to another year of pre-school. Which is great. You get another year home with your youngest. Pre-school graduation was more poignant to me when Mini G moved on. I had been in pre-school as long as I was in college.
Turning my table into a space for me to work and Alex to work on his projects was SO AWESOME. We are both such busy-bees with projects and activities that it works perfectly.
Do you feel like your kids are like your little buddies? I feel like that with Alex. I love the little person he is becoming.
I love your answers for the form, lol, hilarious.
You won't realize it's the last snuggle at the time, but you'll never forget it. My youngest is 13 this year and I still vividly remember the last time I carried him around the house as a sick 6 year-old. I still got a lot of couch cuddles after that (still do), but I have never again gotten to carry one of my children. It's a good thing really, because aforementioned 13 year old is three inches taller than me now!
"The last time they sit in my lap for a snuggle, will I realize at that moment that it is the last time?"
No...but that's good, because it would be too heartbreaking to stand if they announced themselves that way. It happens so gradually you barely notice, until one day you notice your boy is almost as tall as you and you don't even remember the last time he willingly sat on your lap.
Then you do one of those really embarrassing mom things, get all teary and ask him to come sit next to you so you can snuggle him. But he's as tall as you are, remember, so it's really awkward.
Sigh.
It all goes too fast. But no matter how hard you try to appreciate it and breathe it in, it won't slow down. You can only hope to take in enough to still feel some little remnants of that snuggle years down the road.
The fast rides are the most fun. No need to stop in purgatory - it would just slow the ride down.
I am not overly sentimental, but I do get choked up about the possibility of the "lasts". Every hand holding or nighttime cuddling session gets me a little choked up wondering if it is the last...
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