A Week of Firsts

It has been a big week for us...and it's only Wednesday! Yesterday was the first day of the new MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) year and today was Tyler's first day of preschool.

This is my second year as Coordinator of the MOPS group at our church, and even though the job already seems easier than last year, it still requires a lot of time and work! We have 46 moms this year, which is the biggest our group has been since I've been a part of it. (Thankfully we have a wonderful Moppets Coordinator who oversees all of our volunteer teachers and the 70+ kids. I think her job is much more difficult than mine.)

There are always a lot of materials to prepare and planning to do at the beginning of the year, so I do feel a sense of relief now that we made it through the first meeting. We only one had one minor glitch--our scheduled speaker had to cancel 2 days prior due to a family emergency--but it all worked out fine, I think. I do pray that we have a great year and each of the moms will benefit from the ministry in some way.

I had to make it through MOPS yesterday before I could really even think about Tyler's first day of preschool, which was today! We attended orientation a week ago and it went really well. We met Tyler's teachers and then we had a meeting with the preschool director while the kids stayed in their classrooms. I'm pretty sure Tyler didn't even know we had left. He was so caught up in playing with all the toys and checking out his classroom. His teachers gave him a Hershey's Kiss on his way out, which he was very excited about. ["Wook! I got tocket (chocolate)!"] As we walked down the hall away from his classroom, he nonchalantly said, "That was fun."

Photos taken this morning before school

Drop-off this morning went incredibly smooth. We waited in the atrium until the director unlocked the door and everyone who had arrived early started shuffling to their classes. Tyler got right in line and was on his way. I actually had to tell him to wait up so Nathan and I could catch up to him. When we got to his classroom, I gave him a quick hug and he went straight in with his backpack and lunchbox. His teacher, Miss Kerry, asked him to find his cubby and put away his things. He never looked back, not even once. He was such a big boy about the whole thing--almost too big.

Nathan and I made our back outside and then it hit me. Unlike orientation, Tyler was not leaving with us, at least not for 4 more hours. When I'd pictured this day in my mind, I'd never thought past dropping him off at his classroom. Given that orientation had gone so well, I predicted that we'd have a tearless good-bye--and we did. The thing is, I hadn't stopped to imagine how incredibly hard it would be for me to say good-bye. I had to force myself to hold it together as I carried Nathan to the car. I didn't want the other parents to see me crying, so I purposefully focused on the fact that I still had my baby with me.

When we finally made it to the car, I called Tim to tell him how drop-off went, but when I couldn't get a hold of him, I called my mom. One simple question from her--"Did you just drop off your big boy?"-- and I was a mess. Of course I was grateful that Tyler didn’t show any sign of hesitation. That would have made it even more difficult for me. I just needed to acknowledge the importance of today by crying for a couple minutes so I could move on with the rest of my day.

Nathan and I spent the morning running errands and it was definitely much quieter in the car without Tyler. We were actually able to accomplish quite a bit with one less munchkin to snap in and out of a carseat. Back at home for lunch, the house didn’t seem to have the same amount of bustle without Tyler’s incessant chatter.

When we returned to the preschool to pick up Tyler, we waited outside his classroom with some other moms. Miss Kerry hadn’t called him yet, but Tyler came running out of the room to me. I’m not sure how he even saw me because I was behind at least two other moms. Like all the other kids, he was probably just keeping an eye out for his mom. Poor Miss Kerry, she was like a human gate trying to stop the kids from escaping. She was trying to dismiss kids in the order that their parents arrived, so I sent Tyler back in until it was his turn, and he went willingly. Miss Kerry called him a minute later, and he was running back out with a big hug for me. I had to send him back once again, this time to get his backpack and lunchbox from his cubby.

Walking to the car, Tyler told me that he had fun at school and he was in good spirits. Then, I opened the car door and Tyler saw PJ. All of a sudden, he burst into tears.

Tyler: I not want you to bring P-ssay!

Me (after trying to console him for a couple minutes): I’m sorry, buddy. I thought it would be a nice surprise for you.

Tyler (through sobs): No, dat not a nice surprise!

How was I to know that bringing his doggie would cause such a negative reaction? He loves PJ! The more I thought about it, I realized that his entire day was full of uncertainty. The last thing he wanted was to have me throw one more surprise his way. Tyler was sad the entire drive home and didn’t seem to recover until just before his nap when he finally started telling me some random details about his day:

1) “I the only kid who open my lunchbox all by myself!”
2) “My teacher give my grapes to another boy. She thought he bring them. I told her, ‘No, those are my grapes.’” – I really hope he said it in a nice way…
3) When I asked him whether he played in the sandbox, he said, “Yeah! They have lots of trucks! They have dump trucks and a concrete mixer!”
4) “Mommy, you want to hear what I did at school? I decorated a placemat.” (Me: For what?) “For my food. I put a apple on it and two leaves.”

All things considered, I think it was a good day. Tyler repeatedly told us that he had fun at school, and if I hadn’t brought PJ to pick him up, he probably would have made it through the day without shedding a single tear. I guess we’ll see how it goes on Friday when we do it all over again…without the doggie.