A mark of confidence in your child’s school is the willingness to have his wailing self pried from your head by a man who is essentially a stranger to you while you, with goofy forced cheeriness chirp, “I love you! Have a great day,” and then go jogging across the parking lot to your car (since you had to get out of the car pool line and park when your child, instead of hopping out of the car like he does every other day, jumped in the back of the minivan and hid under empty liquor store boxes that you were going to use to pack books up that morning)–where even with the doors closed and windows up, you can still hear your kid crying for you. Until the two year old starts to cry for his brother, and then wakes up the 2 month old, who realizes that he has not nursed at all in ten minutes and screams at you.
A mark of confidence in the parents and teachers at your child’s school is a singular lack of self-consciousness when you make an unflattering surprise appearance at the morning car pool line. Instead of staying safely in your car (no one was supposed to see you, damn it!) while wearing the most hideous items from your closet (a maternity top–and you’re not goddamned pregnant anymore!), if you can skip across the parking lot, in full view of every single person in line, oily hair flapping in the wind, shoeless feet padding on the concrete…the bra-less wonder holding the inexplicably sobbing four-year-old wrapped around your neck…with no fear of judgement from the other adults, then you, my friend, have picked the right school.
Well that sounds like fun. Kids have a talent for choosing the worst possible moment to lose the plot don’t they!
Your school sounds lovely. I’ve never really had to test it but I’m pretty sure my kids’ school would pass muster in this way too. It’s nice to be in an environment where the majority of people can just accept others without judgment.
How right you are, mimbles.
And I’m happy to report he had a wonderful day as soon as he got in there (don’t they always?). It was bizarre–he absolutely loves school and always hops right out of the car and can’t wait to get into his classroom. But I assume he thinks I behave inexplicably sometimes, too, so it’s all fair.
Oh, man that sounds familiar. Even the greasy hair part. Okay, wait, I go in with greasy hair when I already KNOW I’ll be leaving the car with greasy hair and half-dressed.
I’m glad you’ve got the confidence.
There was a brief span of time when I had to leave my crying 18 month old with a sitter that I knew she hated. And I knew didn’t care for her the way I would have liked (nothing harmful, just not quite so caring). At least when I have to leave her crying at a place that is good, I can cry for just a minute and know she’s only crying for a minute too, rather than wondering if I’m scarring her for life.
By the by, I like this WP template MUCH better than your last one. It feels closer to YOU, if I may say that, when I don’t actually KNOW you.
Hahaha! (Just so you know, that laugh was with you, not at you.)
I’ve made a valiant effort to shower every morning now that I am walking Ava to school and no longer have a car to hide in. I am really looking forward to winter hats, though!
serahrose–too bad our kids don’t go to the same school–we could really give the other parents a show. And thanks about the template–I just went through a very dangerous change-template-based-on-mood situation but this one does seem to fit best. (Yeah, you DO know me.)
nessa–so happy to see you. And yes, you totally were laughing at me.