Mother's Day Out

Jay enrolled Wyatt in Mother's Day Out a few weeks ago. Honestly, I was not sure how it would go. He can be so sweet and loving...and such a handful. I think Jay could sense my apprehension, and proceeded to explain to me, rapidly, that it was only one day per week, and we could see how it goes, and that everything will be fine, and...Okay. Okay. "We'll try it," I said. Still, I couldn't help this nagging feeling inside.

I envisioned phone calls from The Early Learning Center at an area church, during which the nice teachers would tell me in the calmest, most reassuring tone they could muster that little Wyatt, while extremely cute and uncharacteristically bright for his age (you know how they always try to soften you up before the big blow), had...and then my mind went crazy...had what? Colored on the wall? Eaten the other kids' lunches? Unrolled an entire roll of toilet paper from one end of the school to the other...without breaking it? Wrapped himself in scotch tape? What?! Then, I snapped out of it. Silly me. He already did all that at home during the big kids' first week of homeschool. He won't do it there.

As the day approached for his first day of "school," we tried to explain to Wyatt what it would be like. I told him he would meet new friends, play with toys, eat lunch out of his brand-new Spiderman lunchbox, and then I said, "and take a nap." I said it super-fast and sounded a little like when you fast-forward a song to your favorite part, a little high-pitched and garbled. He totally heard me. He looked at me with "that look" he gets sometimes, and I thought to myself, here we go.

You see, Wyatt is a busy little guy. From the time he wakes up, he is basically non-stop. But, yes, I still make him take a nap here at home. I'm the grown-up; he's just 2, and he still needs a rest in the middle of the day (as do I)...besides, most of our neighbors work during the day so they can't hear the head-banging on the crib and the screaming from the upstairs bedroom..."I NOT LAY DOWN!!! I NOT GO SLEEP!!!" Of course, after a few minutes, he does. Either he knocks himself out (literally) or he passes out from sheer exhaustion, but either way, he naps for 2-3 hours every afternoon.

This picture shows him "practicing" taking a nap on his kinder-mat. I think he realized he had the rest of the proposed school day down-pat, but this nap thing might need a little work. He is lying down with "Blue" his bear blanket. (Wyatt's a little like Linus. "Blue" is a seasoned traveler and goes with us almost everywhere. You never know when you might have to sleep.) He also sleeps with "Ducky" a blanket with, you guessed it, little yellow ducks all over it. It's a little much sometimes, dragging these things around, but they seem to do the trick when it comes to nap/bedtime.

Well, like most things we worry about for no reason, "school" has worked out great. The only time Wyatt cried a little was on the first day. Of course when I picked him up I had a thousand questions as I buckled him into his carseat. Poor kid. What did you do at school today? " I pway." Did you meet new friends? "Yes ma'am." Did you eat your lunch? "I eat wunch." Did you take a nap? "I take nap." What else did you do? "I cwy a wittle bit." I knew this already from the teachers, but to hear him say it was different. I took his chubby little toddler hands in mine and looked him in the eye and asked, "Why did you cry, Sweetie?" His little lip started to tremble just a bit, and he said, "I neena Mama." I could feel my eyes begin to well up. For such a rough-and-tumble little guy, he really has a very tender heart, and is still in many ways just a baby himself. I hugged him tight and reassured him that I will always be here and that I will always come to pick him up from school. (He was probably thinking, Geez...I just wanted you there to tuck me in for naptime.) But that's okay. In the midst of all the "I do it myself!"...it's nice to know you're still needed.

There have not been any calls, and Wyatt's teachers tell me every Wednesday afternoon when I pick him up how sweet he is and what a good day he has had. He likes school. He likes to play with his "fins." And he even has a handle on rest time. His teachers tell me that sometimes he naps, and sometimes he doesn't, but he always lays quietly on his mat. (I'd like to know how they do that.)

This growing up thing is hard work. There are new things like school and teachers, lunchboxes and kindermats, friends and unfamiliar toys. How's a parent supposed to cope?