many thanks, crayola

I dropped you off at your parents’ day out program this morning. We’re at the end of week three of this new, little adventure, and it has not been without its bumps. You cried hard on the first day Daddy and I dropped you off, and so did I. When we asked you about that first day, you admitted, “I kie, kie, kie.” (so sweet) Most school mornings involve at least one “No school bus, Momma” (your way of saying school). I gently remind you of the fun you have and reassure you that today is indeed a “school bus” day. You then set to processing the potential trauma; it goes exactly like this every time: “Momma. Daddy. Bye-bye. I kie.”

“It’s okay to cry a little bit, Bubbee. Momma will see you soon,” I reassure.

Today is gray and rainy, and your slight protest seemed more reasonable to me with those conditions as part of the day’s reality. You didn’t want to walk in on your own, and you were sucking your thumb and snuggling Sleepy Sheepy, trying to center yourself when we peeked into your classroom. You saw the markers and paper laid out on the table, and you nearly leapt from my arms, shouting “coloring!” You do like your markers, Mr. Man. I convinced you to give Sleepy to me, so she wouldn’t get dirty and watched you and the other little people in your class color for a few minutes. When I declared that I needed to go, you said, “No go, Momma.”

“Momma’s gonna go, but I’ll see you this afternoon.”

“Sheepy?”

“You’ll get to see her at naptime. Okay, buddy?”

“K. Bye-bye, Momma.”

Then you blew me a kiss and waved good-bye, our first tear-free day! I feel like I owe Crayola a debt of gratitude! Curiously, the no-tears scene made me sad too. It’s the end of an era. You’re getting to be a big boy, full of independence and fearlessness. Soon, you won’t need Momma at all. It’s all going so, so fast…