First Week of School

The first day was great...rest of the week not so great. Both Nathan and Charlotte went to school on Wednesday, which was their first day. Charlotte only goes on Mondays and Wednesdays so after the first day, she was finished for the week. Nathan was not too happy about that on Thursday.

I was a little worried about that, but Wayne and I really talked to Nathan the night before, and he acted excited about school, but that all changed once we walked into the building. As we got closer to his room, the crying got louder and louder. We stopped by the stairwell so I could try to talk to him, reason with him, comfort him, but he just wouldn't calm down. He kept telling me he loved me and wanted to be home with me and Charlotte. I was so sad for him. Finally, one of the assistants, Miss Jackie, came over to us...she heard us down the hall. Nathan went through this same thing last year, and miss Jackie made him feel better then too. Anyway, she told me just to drop off his backpack, and she would talk to him and go with him into class. After I let his teachers know where he was, I walked past the stairs and saw miss Jackie holding Nathan, his arms wrapped around her and his head laying on her shoulder. I knew he was nervous because it was a new class with new teachers and new kids. My heart broke for him. Charlotte and I left and an hour later, Miss Jackie called to tell me that he was still a little sad but wasn't as upset as he had been earlier. I thought about him all day and was sure I was there a little early to pick him up. When I picked him up, he was in the BEST mood! His teachers told me, it didn't take long for him to get happy and that he played with  two other boys really well. They said he got a little teary eyed halfway through the day but never cried again. As we walked out of his classroom, Nathan couldn't stop talking and telling me about his day. He told me he made a good friend who built block towers with him. He was so happy! As we got closer to the car, Nathan saw his friend and said, "Mommy! That's Aidan!" He ran over to him and gave him a big hug. Aidan said he was sorry he wasn't going to be here on Friday because they were going out of town, but he promised he would finish the block tower with Nathan on Monday. Then Nathan told him that he could come to his house next week and play with all of his toys and Legos. They were so cute! Nathan told me that he snuck his toy lizard in, and is teachers let him keep it with him to make him feel better. He said it smelled like my lipstick so he knew I kissed it for him, so that made him happy. Sweet, sweet boy. I was so relieved that Nathan ended up having a good day!

Now it's Friday. I wasn't as worried about Friday because he ended up having so much fun the day before plus it was a half day. We talked and talked about him going to school today and not crying. He said he wasn't scared, and since it was a short day, he was happy to go. I honestly didn't think we were going to have a problem. We walked in, walked to his class, I signed him in, put on his name tag, leaned down to give him a hug and kiss, and then his eyes welled up. Oh no, not again! He pulled me over to the sided and said he didn't want to go. I said, "Nathan, don't do this again. It is a short day, and I'll be here a little early to pick you up. Be brave! Now, come on, let's go." Now the tears are really coming, and he's got a death grip on my hand. I keep trying to pull my hand out of his, but he is NOT letting go. I knew that once I left, he would be fine like the day before, but I also didn't want to cause a huge scene. So I got my hand away from Nathan fast enough to drop off his back pack in the room. I gave one of the teachers a look, like "Here, we go again." thinking she would come out and take him in like we did yesterday. Nope...the halls had already cleared out, and everyone was starting their day, and I'm around the corner with Nathan crying. I did feel sorry for him the day before, but now my patience is wearing thin. I thought about just dragging him into the room and taking off, but since the teachers weren't out there encouraging me to do that, I didn't know if they wanted me to. I'm thinking, "Where is Miss Jackie?!" Before I know it, Nathan is walking down the hall saying he wants to go home. Charlotte and I walk after him. Now I'm getting mad. I call Wayne thinking he could give him a pep talk, maybe even a threat or two. But that didn't really have any effect. Now, I've pretty much had it. I thought I'd just hug him and carry him into his room, be sweet but firm, and just leave. I guess Nathan knew what I was going to do so as I walked towards him, he started running OUT of the school!!! I ran after him, grabbed him, and by this time, I was seeing RED! I was so ANGRY!!!! Then I heard the door slam behind us and heard this big click. The door to the hallway locked behind us with Charlotte still standing in the hall!!! I was about to lose it. The door was too big for Charlotte to open so the only way to get back in was to walk all the way around the building, go in the front door, go down a LONG hallway to where we were. And all the time, Charlotte is in the hall by herself. I was pretty much running to get to her. Nathan is jogging behind me still crying and wanting me to hold his hand. And I'm thinking, "Nathan, you're lucky we're in a school and I have a tiny bit of self control left." I finally get down the hall and see Charlotte standing by the water fountain trying to get herself a drink. I was so relieved she was still in the same place we left her. I grab Charlotte and start marching down to Nathan's room. I hear him say, "Mommy, what are you going to do?"  With my teeth clenched, I say "I'm getting your teacher. Sit on this step and don't move!" He knew I was mad and did just that. I go to his room and tell Mrs. Landry that Nathan doesn't want to come in and can she help me. This is what she says..."I really think it would be best if you just let me get him and take him into class. He'll be just fine once he's in here, just like yesterday."  Ummmmmm you think? She was really sweet, but in my mind, I'm thinking that's what I wanted someone to do! Come help me! She probably thought I was one of those moms who was coddling him and comforting him and not wanting to see him cry and that I was the one having a hard time letting him go. But I said, "Yes, that would be great." So she comes out and takes his hand. Nathan knew it was over, he was going in whether he wanted to or not. He pretty much gave up the fight and asked to give me a hug and a kiss. I did and then just turned and walked out.

So, not a good day at all! I was supposed to drop him off at 9:00, but ended up not leaving the school until 9:45. It pretty much took me all morning to calm down. When I went to pick him up, once again, he was in the best mood! His teachers said he was wonderful all morning and had a great time. They told me the best thing to do on Monday would be to just walk him in, hand him off to one of them, give a quick hug and kiss and leave, not draw out the goodbye. Great idea! On our way home, I said "Nathan, what in the world happened this morning?" And he said he didn't like being in a different class with different kids and teachers. He said he didn't know if anyone would play with him. But he told me that even though Aidan wasn't there, Taylor played with him all day. I said, "Nathan, I know it's hard to start something new, but you can't carry on like you did this morning." And this was his response: "I know Mommy, I am just so sorry about that." And then he gave me a hug.

That night, Wayne talked to him and gave him another pep talk. We both agreed that we didn't want to ignore the way he was feeling, but he also had to find a way to be brave. He loves the IPad more than anything so we told him that if he walked in crying on Monday, it would be taken away until he could go in without crying. That really scared him! He also really wants to see The Amazing Spiderman movie again (it's on at the dollar theater) so I also told him that if he had a great week, we'd go to that on Friday. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Nathan fell asleep early Friday night...it's exhausting being naughty :)