Well, it's all over but the crying. Currently, for those of you who don't live here, our school system has an earlier dismissal time for Kindergarten children than the rest of the elementary grades. As I understand it, our system is a bit of a dinosaur in that most others have gone to "full day K" long ago. While I understand the officials' desire to change the times, I'm mourning the loss of this precious time. What's an hour forty-five, you say? I'll tell you.
When S was in the big K, G was 2 and the boy was baking in my belly. I would pick her up from school and do a couple different things. We would carefully place sister in her crib to finish the nap she started in the car and then snuggle up under a blanket to watch Mr. Rogers and talk about her day. On G's preschool day, we would stop for an ice cream treat or go to the park before fetching her. This was precious time. When G went to K, she still was (and always will be) in need of a nap. The boy was placed carefully in his bed, after falling asleep in the car, and we would snuggle up under a blanket to talk about her day or catch a power nap before picking up big sis. Being the middle, this was especially important for her. Now that the boy will be starting in August, we will be entering a whole new arena. Biggest sis will be starting middle school, big sis will be entering the tween years which will bring on more responsibilities at school and church and the boy will be in full time K. I mourn the fact that, after picking him up from school, he won't get the same special time that the girls had. I know we can set aside mother son time, but that hour forty-five was precious time. Who pulled cards and couldn't open their ketchup...what we sang in music and how we got to move to funky music in P.E.. Again, all these things can be discussed in the car, at the dinner table, at bedtime. But one on one time in that first year.....so sweet. And he is a snuggler.
Has it officially been announced? I don't think so. But every teacher and school official I've heard says it is going to happen. Until then, I will soak up every snuggle and every minute of preschool boy before he goes to big school. They don't put in all of the child rearing books anything about how fast time passes. They talk about swaddling and burping positions and how to take a temp five different ways. They leave out the stuff about the alarming rate at which they change and learn. That every time I look at any of them, my heart breaks just a little at how grown up they've become. But oh, what a sweet pain it is....
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