Four things I learned from pre-schoolAs a father of two girls (five; one) everyone tells me to enjoy every moment because time goes fast. I would just say ‘yea, we are’ as I shoved more toothpicks in my eyes, longing for that day in 20 years when I can sleep more than two hours again.
But, you know what - ‘they’ are right. Time goes so fast. And it’s not fair. It’s really not. Just as you start to realize you are in one of ‘those’ moments where you should appreciate and cherish every minute, it’s over. Oh sure, there’s another one around the corner, but now there’s one less.
Today is my oldest daughter’s last day of preschool (ahem, pre-K2 as she always corrects me). Driving her there, blasting the Tangled soundtrack (over, and over, and over) I realized that she isn’t the only one who learned a lot in the last two years. Dad’s learned a few things along the way too:
Getting two people ready in the morning is a lot harder than one. No matter how much I plan ahead I just can’t get out of the house on time. God bless the nice teachers at the preschool because we are late EVERY DAY. But when you factor in:
- Making breakfast and lunch – this is after the 75 times I’m asked what I’m making for breakfast and lunch
- Ponytails (no, you can’t have pigtails!!!)
- Lost shoes – seriously, how many shoes can one kid lose, let alone own?
- A toy to play with in the car (daddy, I don’t have anything play with – except the million toys that surround me as I say this)...
Wow, these teachers should be glad I'm ONLY a few minutes late...moving on....
Never underestimate the value of 'special' snack. My daughter was obsessed with the ‘special snack’ she got in school. So much that she wanted it at home. She kept calling it colored circles. Now, that could be anything – Skittles, Lifesavers, M&Ms – how am I supposed to know? Finally, one day when we were grocery shopping she pointed it out on the shelf, in the cereal aisle: Fruit Loops!
Listening is important. My daughter’s progress report said she does really well in school, is great at problem solving and is ready for kindergarten – but – due to her being ‘unafraid to strike up a conversation’ (wonder where she gets that from???) she sometimes has trouble listening. Hey, she’s five – who doesn’t. I’m almost 35 and still have trouble with it – just ask my wife.
You can’t have a bad day. There’s two reason for this. One, you don’t have time. Good luck trying to be mad or feeling sorry for yourself. You just don’t have time to do it. Once your feet hit that multicolored rug it’s a different world that doesn’t care about anything that might have happened to you earlier. The other is because, well, how bad can it be? At the end of the day you get to pick up your kid, healthy and running around, and get to go home and play outside, watch goofy kids shows and color. You can always feel bad tomorrow.
The day I dropped my daughter off at school for the first time, almost two years ago, I
tweeted from the parking lot ‘Test your mettle – drop your kid off at school and walk away.’ The sting/fear of that has subsided – temporarily, I know as the first day of kindergarten looms – replaced with pride and reflection. I have to leave in a few minutes to go to ‘graduation’ but I wanted to take a minute and share with parents everywhere. Regardless if it’s pre-school graduation, middle school moving up ceremonies or high school (or college) - congratulations. It’s true. I get it. This job is hard. Fun. Rewarding. And boy, does it fly. ...........................................................................................................................................
6/3/2011 10:09:37 AM
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