Last drop off

This is Gillian's last week at The Lincroft Center for Children. She is ready to move on to kindergarten eventhough Mommy isn't. I only drop and pick her up once a week, so my drop offs tend to be filled with drama. But not today. As we approached TLC, I noticed that the kids were outside playing. I said "Gill, all your friends are outside." She said "Wow. That's fast. Let's go right outside." We walked through the gate and she immediately clung to my leg. I knelt down and she hugged me super tight. It was like she knew. She gave me an extra hug and then ran over to play with Clarissa. I ran inside to sign her in and put her stuff in her cubby. As I walked to the car, I could see Gillian and Clarissa sitting at a table chatting. They saw me and waved. Such a big girl. 

Thank you Gillian. That extra hug helped Mommy get through this last drop off. 

Drop off and pick up

On Tuesdays, I drop off Gillian and pick up both kids from school. Since I don't drop her off daily, my drop offs are miserable. And today was no different. She didn't want me to leave. She clung to me and the teachers and I ended up distracting her so I could leave. I hate drop offs like that. I feel guilty about leaving her and I spend the day looking forward to to picking her up all day. 

Tonight, I arrived at school and found Gillian playing with two boys at a table. She looked up when I walked in, looked at me and continued to play. I let her play for a few minutes and then said "Ok Gill, we gotta go get John." She said "I just want to play more." I said "I'm sorry, but we gotta get Johnny." She continued to play. Then Miss Denise, her teacher, said "Start cleaning up." Gillian continued to play. I attempted to help her put away the toys. All that did was aggravate her, and she ran across the room. Miss Denise said "I will have to write Miss Lisette a note letting her know that some of our friends didn't have a good night. And she won't let you play tomorrow." This statement scared Gillian and she apologized and started to clean up. But then she refused to put her coat on. 

Ugh. All day I think about my kids and I can't wait to spend time with them and then she treats me like this. I wrote about this tonight, not because it's a memory I would like to remember but so years from now when Gillian has a stubborn little girl that refuses to leave school I can remind Gillian that she once did it to me.  

Missed the bus

We were about a minute too late to get the bus this morning. As I locked the front door, I saw the bus drive past our street. It was totally my fault. I should have gotten us outside earlier. But I thought, it's Monday so the bus would probably be late. Well I was wrong. I told John that we missed the bus. He was so mad. "Are you sure?" I said "Yes, I just saw the bus drive past. Number 15!" John shook his head, "My bus is number 2!" Yes, the school has numbered his bus as bus two, but the bus is actually 15. He said "What are we going to do now?"  I told him "Get into the car and I'll drop you off." He said "Great! That's not the same as taking the bus!" He can be so dramatic. I explained to him that I can drop him off at school and he could wait in the cafeteria until it was time to go to his classroom. He said "I don't want to. I'm going to be the only one in the cafeteria!" I explained to him that he would not be the only kid and that lots of kids get dropped off. He pouted until we got to school. We waited outside school until they opened the doors and then he ran inside. He didn't even slow down to give me a kiss. 

Tonight I asked him if he liked getting dropped off or taking the bus better. He said "The bus is longer!" Thanks. That explains everything.