Monday – The Brave Little Sweet Pea
Aug. 23rd, 2010 04:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ninanevermore.
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“I can’t believe I’m actually starting school tomorrow!” Sweet Pea exclaimed last night. He was standing on the couch, which put him at eye level with me.
“Yes, you are,” I told him. “Are you excited?”
“Very!”
This morning when I tried to get him dressed, he slept through the process until I said, “Wake up, baby. Remember? You start school today.” With that, his eyes flew open wide.
“I fee-got! I do start school today!” With that, he was awake and ready to go. Oh, if only this enthusiasm can last for the next 13 years. I suspect that after awhile the novelty will wear off, but this morning the idea of school was the best thing in the world.
He was enthusiastic getting out of the car, and marching up to the front door, and past the cafeteria. As we approached his classroom, he started to slow down. When we reached the door, he hid behind me and I had to pull him gently by the hand toward the seat with his name on a sticker on the back. He was quiet and answered me in monosyllables after that.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“Are you scared?”
“No.” He spoke quietly, and he looked very scared. The school building does not scare him, but his classroom does. The last time he was in a classroom at the daycare that asked us kindly to never return, things went badly for him. He longs to be at school and make friends, but he’s also very apprehensive about again being in a small room with a big person called a “teacher” and pint-sized students like himself. He seems to be suffering from a bad case of Post Traumatic Daycare Environment Disorder (which may not be recognized by any official psychiatric organizations, but which the members of my household strongly believe exists).
The principle's voice came over the loud speaker to give the morning announcements, which made his eyes get a bit wider. When she told the children to rise for the Pledge of Allegiance, the Texas Pledge of Allegiance, and the Star Spangled Banner, Sweet Pea rose, looked around, and sat back down. I was getting ready to leave, but walked over and whispered to him what the proper protocol was. I turned him to face toward the flag, put his hand over his heart, and whispered the words to the pledge. At least I did for the pledge to the American flag. My own school system back in the day never made us receipt the pledge to the Texas flag, so I - Texas born and reared though I am - don’t actually know any of the words to it. As for the National Anthem I, like most other Americans, can fake lip-syncing the 50% of words to the Star Spangled that I don’t know, and do a pretty impressive job of it.
I bend down toward him after the announcements before I left. “Are you going to be good?”
“Yes.”
He was not crying, but his face and eyes were red as if he wanted to. “Are you scared?” I asked again.
He shook his head.
I kissed the top of his hair. “Love you,” I told him.
“I love you, too” he said.
So I left him there, small and quiet and overwhelmed, stairing at the crayon in his hand but not coloring the picture in front of hiim, and hoped for the best. Neither of us were certain what the day would bring, only that there was a gingerbread man hunt planned at some point.
If all has gone as planned, at this moment he is in the school cafeteria being watched and/or entertained by the staff of the local YMCA, who I have paid to have look after him until I can get there after work (Jeff is at home, but as a shift worker he is fast asleep at the hour that school lets out). When I get there this evening, he can tell me how the gingerbread man hunt turned out. With any luck, he’ll still be excited tomorrow morning at the idea of going back.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * # * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
.
.
“I can’t believe I’m actually starting school tomorrow!” Sweet Pea exclaimed last night. He was standing on the couch, which put him at eye level with me.
“Yes, you are,” I told him. “Are you excited?”
“Very!”
This morning when I tried to get him dressed, he slept through the process until I said, “Wake up, baby. Remember? You start school today.” With that, his eyes flew open wide.
“I fee-got! I do start school today!” With that, he was awake and ready to go. Oh, if only this enthusiasm can last for the next 13 years. I suspect that after awhile the novelty will wear off, but this morning the idea of school was the best thing in the world.
He was enthusiastic getting out of the car, and marching up to the front door, and past the cafeteria. As we approached his classroom, he started to slow down. When we reached the door, he hid behind me and I had to pull him gently by the hand toward the seat with his name on a sticker on the back. He was quiet and answered me in monosyllables after that.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes.”
“Are you scared?”
“No.” He spoke quietly, and he looked very scared. The school building does not scare him, but his classroom does. The last time he was in a classroom at the daycare that asked us kindly to never return, things went badly for him. He longs to be at school and make friends, but he’s also very apprehensive about again being in a small room with a big person called a “teacher” and pint-sized students like himself. He seems to be suffering from a bad case of Post Traumatic Daycare Environment Disorder (which may not be recognized by any official psychiatric organizations, but which the members of my household strongly believe exists).
The principle's voice came over the loud speaker to give the morning announcements, which made his eyes get a bit wider. When she told the children to rise for the Pledge of Allegiance, the Texas Pledge of Allegiance, and the Star Spangled Banner, Sweet Pea rose, looked around, and sat back down. I was getting ready to leave, but walked over and whispered to him what the proper protocol was. I turned him to face toward the flag, put his hand over his heart, and whispered the words to the pledge. At least I did for the pledge to the American flag. My own school system back in the day never made us receipt the pledge to the Texas flag, so I - Texas born and reared though I am - don’t actually know any of the words to it. As for the National Anthem I, like most other Americans, can fake lip-syncing the 50% of words to the Star Spangled that I don’t know, and do a pretty impressive job of it.
I bend down toward him after the announcements before I left. “Are you going to be good?”
“Yes.”
He was not crying, but his face and eyes were red as if he wanted to. “Are you scared?” I asked again.
He shook his head.
I kissed the top of his hair. “Love you,” I told him.
“I love you, too” he said.
So I left him there, small and quiet and overwhelmed, stairing at the crayon in his hand but not coloring the picture in front of hiim, and hoped for the best. Neither of us were certain what the day would bring, only that there was a gingerbread man hunt planned at some point.
If all has gone as planned, at this moment he is in the school cafeteria being watched and/or entertained by the staff of the local YMCA, who I have paid to have look after him until I can get there after work (Jeff is at home, but as a shift worker he is fast asleep at the hour that school lets out). When I get there this evening, he can tell me how the gingerbread man hunt turned out. With any luck, he’ll still be excited tomorrow morning at the idea of going back.
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no subject
Date: 2010-08-23 09:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-23 09:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-23 10:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-24 12:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-23 10:19 pm (UTC)He will also be very tired.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-24 12:39 am (UTC)Rather than being spent, my strange little night owl is bouncing off the walls right now, though. He should be tired, but he seems weirdly energized by the whole experience.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-23 11:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-24 12:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-24 01:17 pm (UTC)Honor the Texas flag, I pledge allegiance to thee. Texas, one and indivisible. :)
Glad you both had a great start to the new school year.
no subject
Date: 2010-08-24 07:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-24 04:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-08-24 07:43 pm (UTC)