They said it was going to happen and it did. Boy, did it happen. I’m talking about the tears on the first day of Pre-K. I’m not even talking about myself. I’m talking about my daughter. Yep, we were that family the first day of school.
It’s a real shame, because it seemed so promising. My daughter was sooo excited about school. We even had a discussion about how Mommy and Daddy couldn’t stay and how she was going to make all new friends. She seemed okay with it all. She wasn’t. The excitement level disappeared and turned into sheer panic as soon as we motioned towards the door. The tears started and they did not stop. I mean they did not stop!
My heart broke into one-thousand little pieces. She was so upset. I was upset too. I really thought we had this thing in the bag. I couldn’t have been more wrong!
After seeing how upset she was, I really didn’t know what to do. I looked around. No other kids were crying. No other parents were staying like they said we all could that day. I truthfully was waiting for another kid to crack. Nope. No other tears. Against my better judgement, I stayed. I was able to calm her down with the help of some Dora toys. Gracias Dora, I owe you one. Then I “went to the bathroom” and escaped until the shortened day was over. I could hear her ask for me a couple of times. But, she was also starting to play with the other kids and teachers. Thank God!
When it was time to leave she seemed okay. She said she had fun, so I thought we were golden for day two. Once again, I couldn’t have been more wrong. I went in bribing her with pizza if she stayed without crying. Once again, everything was great until I said that dreaded word…bye. The eyes got watery. Then she told me she didn’t want pizza and wanted to go home! Okay, so I totally wasn’t expecting that one. I told her that wasn’t an option. But, she wasn’t buying what I was selling. After a couple of minutes of crying, the teacher told me to run for the border. She told me to just rip the band-aid. So, I did. I left me child sobbing as I walked down the hallway feeling like the worst mother in the world.
Truthfully, I expected to get a call from the teacher at any moment telling me to come back and calm her down. But, after an hour passed without a call. I figured I was in the clear. But, I still felt like crap. I had planned to do so many things with just one child in tow. The weird thing was I felt lost. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t stop thinking about her and what she was doing. Was she still crying? Was she having fun? Was she making friends? I was driving myself crazy. So, I thought about what would make me happy. The answer was simple…retail therapy and caffeine. I have to admit it did help!
When I arrived to pick her up, I was expecting to find a miserable little girl who was so mad at me for leaving her with strangers. Instead, I found a little girl who was so excited to show me her little project and tell me everything she did. She was so happy! And, guess what? She wanted her pizza too! Score 1 for Mom and Pre-K (atleast for now)!