Because I’m that dumb

September 23, 2008 by Barbara.

Ken called Thursday morning. It was so wonderful to hear his voice! For once Reid and I were ahead of our schedule and we were both in good spirits. When I heard Ken’s voice, I put the phone on speaker and said hello again so that Reid would hear Ken’s “hello” out of the blue. As soon as she heard his voice, she spun around and said, “Hi, Daddy!” And then she said to me, “That is Daddy?” It was and the smile on her face and sparkle in her eyes made me sad that we don’t have a video phone. She chatted with Ken for a while and I even got a chance at the end.

We hurry-scurried to get to the car after we said our goodbyes and we would have been on time for our respective schools but for the soft tire on the car. Luckily for me it was on the driver’s side and also that Uncle Dave had told me to keep an eye on it after he had filled it the week earlier. We went straight to a gas station and would have still been on time if not for the woman who took advantage of my courtesy in letting her get to a gas pump (or so I thought) before I pulled up to the air pump. Then, she had to go into the store to get the quarters that the machine required before finally filling her tire. Reid had many questions about the delay and I used the time to explain the process rather than ranting. I’m a better person because of her ;+)

When we finally got to school, the kids were already in their own rooms, rather than all in the pre-care room, and so I took a moment to ask how Reid is doing globally. The communication book is good but doesn’t provide the same sort of observation that a conversation would. Reid had kissed me and went to play but when she saw that I was still there, she came over for a hug.  And then she started to cry and say she felt sick. What a silly mama I am! I blew the “no cry” exit. For what it is worth, the teacher had been telling me that Reid is intelligent, follows direction well and is not involved in any conflicts with her peers.

I slunk away quickly, like I should have done in the first place, and Reid waved at me from the window. She returned to her colouring table before I backed the car up to leave. That is a good sign. Most every morning she tells me that she doesn’t want to go to school and I tell her one or more of the following: that we both have things to learn; that we have friends to see; and that going to school is our “job”.  I was pretty sure that Reid was continuing to experience the separation anxiety that she’d had even about day care since Ken left but I wanted to be sure. Last year at this time, Reid asked not to go to day care and it turned out that one of her classmates was pulling her hair and otherwise making her life unpleasant.

We’re having a parent-teacher information session this Thursday night and I’ll maybe get more information there.

Posted in School, Mama, Daddy | Print | 1 Comment »