Monday, September 24, 2012

Rolling along

For the first time in his life, I want to stop time.

Summer has been over for three weeks.  I know this because three weeks ago, Little G started pre-school.  When Little G was born, it felt like I grabbed onto a moving roller coaster and only recently has it felt like I have gotten my bearings.  And now the whole thing just started off again.  I can not completely describe it, but even just looking at pictures from three weeks ago...just three weeks...seems like I'm looking at a different kid.

The end of our summer was epic.  Summer itself was epic - Little G had 'camp' for five weeks and then we were away for our yearly pilgrimage to the Jersey Shore and then he had two more weeks of camp and another week of 'welcome to your new school' camp.  And then, after a summer of scheduled fun, we had two weeks off.  Two whole weeks of just me, Little G and his baby sister.

I was petrified.

I ended up making a basic plan for each day where we lounged and had breakfast then headed out to explore the city, or go to a beach, or just ride the rails, and then we came home and I tucked two kids into their beds, exhausted, for a nap.  I had a babysitter come for the afternoons during those two weeks.  She had the easiest job ever as both my kids were usually asleep the whole time and I spent the afternoons trying to fit in various appointments...physical therapy for my ankle, dentist appointments, therapist appointments, etc.  We deviated from the plan on some days, but for the most part, that's what we did.  And it was awesome.

And now it is September.  And not just September, but three weeks into September.  For the first time since having Little G, September MEANT something.  Preschool isn't just a change in his life, it is a change in ours.  He goes five days a week for six hours a day.  This was a major shift for us.  So yeah, for the first time, when September rolled around and life had a major, noticeable, transition I found myself wanting to stop time.  Wanting to hold onto Summer, as long as I could -- because this roller coaster didn't even slow down and too quickly I am looking back into the distance trying to hold on to everything that was awesome knowing that the next time summer rolls around, he'll be four.

2 comments:

  1. hi! how and why did you decide to send him for 6 hours a day? I have a 2 year old, and I am currently trying to figure out which pre-school program to put him in next year. The montessori program i am interested in has everything from 3 hours a day to 9 hours a day. I will be home with his brother (4 months).

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  2. Hi Hilary - Little G went to daycare from 7:30am until 5:30pm two days a week starting at 13 months old. A year ago he transitioned to a full time slot when he was 2yrs, 3months old (a month before his sister was born). Last January, when he was 2.5 years old, he transitioned to a Montessori style program for toddlers and was there M,T, Th, F from 8:30 to 5. Over the summer, he was at the same Montessori program for 'camp' for the same hours, five days a week with no nap(!) I guess I just figured he would be able to handle the 6 hour day at his new school.


    His new school is a very intense Montessori program where he gets there between 8:20 and 8:40 and at 8:40 sharp the lessons start and go for three hours. Then they break for lunch, outside time, nap and then it's time for me to pick him up. There is a shorter option for the younger Children's House kids, but I figured it would be easier for them to get him to nap than for me to. One thing I was looking forward to with this schedule change was getting home earlier and having time to veg out before having to get dinner ready...effectively putting an end to the 6:00 scramble. So far, that hasn't worked out exactly as planned. Apparently no matter how long of a day kids have had in daycare, the transition to preschool or K1 or Kindergarten is rough. Right now, he doesn't want quiet time, he doesn't want to veg and he doesn't want to play by himself, so there's a LOT of all of us being outside together playing...putting a total kibosh on my getting-dinner-ready-before-scrambling-at-6-pm plans.


    Hope that helped!!

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