Friday, March 13, 2009

"... a priest, a rabbi, and a quaker..."

Sounds like the beginning of a good joke or a decent blog post.

Lately, with what all has been going on in the Classic Rock Household, Toolman and I have been in need of something, but I don't know what, and I think we've lost a great deal of perspective. Making even simple decisions seems to require inordinate amounts of time, and when things don't go as planned or get messed up a funk seems to take root. This is not normal for us.

For the last several months, several people have be telling me wonderful things about my son. Things every mom wants to hear. Some statements have been extreme, so much so that I find it hard to believe anything those individuals say. Is this flattery or is it something I need to act on? Does he really need to move on to the three year old class now? He's even registered to start "terrific twos" in August. A phone call about this came from out of the blue Monday. Perhaps the hardest church school to get admission to (unless you are a member of course) offering a spot in the threes for fall. Is this some sort of sign from God? So many different people telling me the same thing, but yet, I don't believe it. Toolman summed up my thoughts by saying "That's fine, but I want to see his SAT scores."

And so, he's staying with his group. So what if he can read some? So what if his "art" and hand-eye coordination is out there compared to his contemporaries. Why would I make him be the smallest and most behind in his class? Why can't he just stay being be the smallest and most capable?

As his mom I think the fact that he got sent to time out for the very first time a week ago after seven months in preschool, does not show that he is obedient or advanced, but that maybe now he's just feeling comfortable enough at school to misbehave.

So am I missing it? Have I been sent a priest, a rabbi and a Quaker? This scene from the West Wing has been running in my mind all week. Perhaps the analogy is a little far fetched, but then, that's what parenting can feel like.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

My mom was offered the same choice (well almost) with me. They wanted me to skip a grade in school - mom knew that would throw me off with my friends from church, the neighborhood, etc etc ....

It's a decision you have to make, but it sounds like you've thought it through and made the right choice for CRB - it may present itself again and give you an option to act on then :)