*I am a week late on this, but I’ve come to accept that this is now normal!*
Last Thursday, Emma had her first day of pre-preschool. One day a week, she is attending a Mother’s Day Out program at my Mom and Dad’s church. It is a structured program, but isn’t officially preschool. It’s just a fun place for her to play with friends, learn about God, and do arts and crafts. And she gets to wear her backpack, which makes her feel quite special.
Of course, she had no problem adjusting to all of this. A fast hug and wave goodbye, and she was good to go. She quickly settled in with the toys and had no interest in Mom anymore. In my heart, I knew this meant she was ready for this. But was I?
I was okay until I talked to other people about it that day. Then the shaky voice started, but only a few tears were shed. She is only gone for a few hours, and she really seems to enjoy it.
Her teachers are Ms. Kim and Ms. Patti. And her classmates are all boys, which was surprising. The teachers said it didn’t seem to phase Emma though. That didn’t surprise me!
Besides getting a little bit of a break, my favorite part of this whole “school” thing is picking her up and hearing about her day. Last week, I asked her how she liked the boys in her class. Her response: “They pushed me away.” As I started to plot my revenge on a group of 3-year-old boys, I first asked, “What did you do when they pushed you?” And she said, “I was just trying to give them hugs and kisses.”
Okay then. That explains that.
Emma’s favorite part of the day is “playing with the beans.” She also likes snack time because she gets to have juice. At home, it’s water. Sometimes with a splash of juice, but usually just plain water. I think she’s still unsure if it’s okay for her to drink this tasty stuff because both times I’ve picked her up she has said to me, “Mom, can I have grape juice? Does it have milk in it?” It’s almost like she thinks it’s too good to be true! My poor sheltered child. 😉
And while I am proud that my Emma is independent, I will always remember picking her up that first day. As the door opened for the parents to come in, I could see Emma’s eyes eagerly looking for me, as if for a second she was worried I wouldn’t come. When she finally saw me, she came running, and we hugged tight.
What a relief for both of us to remember that she will always be my baby.
