Tuesday, August 26, 2014

School Days

Yesterday was the first day of kindergarten for the Babe.  We were both excited.  There were no tears from either of us. 

For some parents, I know its a milestone reflecting that your baby is no longer a baby.  For me, it meant a little more freedom, a lot more knowledge.  As the Babe is my only child, she will always be my baby.  Kindergarten won't change that fact. 

The bittersweet element was that my father and mother-in-law aren't here to know how well yesterday went.  Had things been different, I probably would have called my mother-in-law when I got home from dropping the Babe off at school, to tell her how things went.  She would have wanted to hear all the details, and would have kvelled (Yiddish for "to feel happy or proud").  My father would have also enjoyed hearing about how the Babe just jumped right into school.  Yes, we shared with my mother and father-in-law about how the morning went.  And yes, they were also happy for how well things went.  It just would have been nice to share with everyone.

As for the school and the Babe's teacher, I am very happy.  I met with the school nurse and school principal separately, and a telephone conversation with her teacher, prior to the start of school.  Medication was turned in, safety plans were put in place.  We will all meet later this week to review everything.  Everyone knows who the Babe is, and are doing their best to keep her safe.  The Babe can concentrate on learning and making new friends, and just be.

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Plunging into Action

I did something for the first time ever only for the love of my child.  I used a plunger.  Yes, not an exceptional act, but it was in a gas station bathroom.  And it was before she even used it.

We drove to Washington, DC to meet friends who were visiting from Wisconsin.  It's the first time I've ever driven there, as my husband had to work.  Last time we had gone on a weekend and it took about two hours to get there.  This time with our pit stop, road construction, and summer weekday traffic, it took us three hours.

But I digress.  We were about twenty minutes into our ride, just hitting a more rural area, when the Babe suddenly had to go to the bathroom, and it was an urgent need.  Within a few minutes, there was a motel coming up.  Went into the office to find out there were no public restrooms.  How rude when it was clearly a child in need, but fine, she directed us to a gas station across the way.  Not a shiny new one, but again, kid in crisis.  So on we go to the gas station.  One semi-dingy bathroom inside with a stuffed toilet.  And no, no other toilet available.  The clerk didn't offer any assistance, so we went back in, and I used the plunger.  The Babe was impressed.  I'm glad I did it because she definitely needed to go.  Fortunately it worked.

Eventually we made it to DC, and she got to see the ruby slippers again with her friends.  I do love DC, but if I can avoid it, I'll let someone else do the driving.  The driving itself was fine, it was navigating my way that was a bit of a challenge.  Then again, next time I'll probably be better oriented, but it's always better with another adult.  Plus, five and a half hours of driving round trip is exhausting for me.  Again, worth it to see our friends and do something fun.  The key things my daughter talked about from this trip were seeing me plunge a toilet, and visiting the gift shop.  Just your average day.