Preschool

Well, today marks the final day of LPP's first full week of preschool! Five full days. What a milestone.  And what a relief.  

On his very first day of preschool, week before last, he was all smiles until we actually arrived at the school.  And then he was Stoney Jackson, with the stoniest stone face ever!  We were sent to the wrong classroom at first. Once we found the right class, with a very exuberant and earthy teacher - she looked like she could play stick ball with the best of them in Brooklyn and then make scrumptious peanut butter granola crunch balls in the mountain hills of Vermont - LPP settled in, loosened up and had a fun time.  Parents stayed in the classroom for the entire 90 minutes. 

On the second day of preschool, parents were asked to leave, and the day lasted 2 1/2 hours.  LPP was very quiet when I brought him to his classroom.  Upon my departure, after making sure LPP was seated, I went in to kiss him goodbye on the cheek. He jerked his head to the side, with Matrix-like reflexes, totally dodging my lips, and scrunched up his face with a little whine, as if to say, "MOM!!! You are cramping my style!"  Disbelieving, I went in for a kiss a second time, and got the same reaction.  So, I snuck in a kiss on the forehead and backed away, saying, "Goodbye. See you later!" to which LPP quickly turned around and gave me a curt wave of his hand which took no more than a millisecond to execute, and then turned back around to face the front of the classroom.  Guess it was better than a tearful departure.

On this past Monday, his first full day of school, I celebrated this achievement with LPP's first LEGO set.  He was thrilled! There is nothing like seeing the smile of a boy lost in imagination and discovery, proud of his own transformation into a growing big boy.  There is also nothing like the searing pain of kneeling on a lone Lego piece.  So acute and total was the agony, it was as if LEGO was designed just for this, to find that soft area right in the middle of your kneecap, and with the accuracy of an ice pick, bore into your nerves until you are crying for mercy.  It could take an assassin down.  I was writhing in pain on the floor, holding my knee, moaning.  Poor LPP, startled, kissed my knee, assuring me "It's okay, Mommy!"  There was a single tear streaming down my face as I tried to gather my senses.  I suddenly remembered why I hadn't bought LPP LEGO before.

This week, he only cried once, on his second full day (Tuesday).  But overall, he goes to school willingly, even smiling at the Teacher Assistant when she comes to corral the children in the morning.  And now I have some free time.  And it is such a rush that it is hard to be disciplined and get the rest that I desperately need.  I want to read and catch up on some movies, study Portuguese, blog... But rest, I must.  And so I will quickly end this post with an anecdote of serendipitous premonition:

Earlier in the summer, I took LPP to Battery Park for an evening picnic to cure my restlessness.  We stopped first at the playground and I overheard a cool, stylish woman with long dread-locks speaking French to her daughter, who seemed about the same age and height as LPP.  Being the avid Francophile that I am, I struck up a conversation with her (in English), and discovered that she is an American who also loves French, and who decided that she wanted her daughter to be bilingual, so she has been speaking to her daughter in French since her daughter was born.  We discovered that we studied French at the same school and that we live pretty close to each other and our children are close in age (her daughter is already 4).  We exchanged numbers, but, as is often the case, I let the entire summer pass without calling her even once.  

On LPP's first day of school, this woman popped in my head.  I thought for a fleeting moment that it would be cool if her daughter ended up at LPP's school.  I regretted not calling her and made a promise to give her a call, hoping that she would remember me, and perhaps we could set up a play date at the playground again.

When K and I neared LPP's school that very first day, who should be standing right out front but the woman from the playground!  And yes, her daughter is attending the same school. And yes, her daughter is IN LPP's class - there are 2 different Pre-K classes, and each class was split into 2 groups that day, and not only were they in the same class, but in the same split group!  And they were both sent to the wrong classroom that very first day.  And the woman remembered my name (as did I hers).  How cool is that!?!

Enjoy your day!