Third Freakin' Grade
"Woo hoo!" cut through the morning silence like a evil, evil knife.
What? You don't have a Big Time Rush song as your alarm? You should. It's hard to be angry at knives cutting through the very early morning when they're so bright-eyed and innocent and perky.
Bottles. Clothes. Pacifier. Bottles. Wait. What if the Princess of Not Eating still refuses to eat? Grab more bottles. The mental checklist ran through my head like the closing credits of a movie. Rush. Is Mila awake? Bottles. I scampered all around the house putting together all of the things that had to be put together in preparation for Mila's first day at daycare.
In the midst of my chaos, a curly-haired creature with big eyes and a bit of an attitude appeared. "Mom, can you braid my hair today?"
Busy. So busy. So many things that have to be done. "Sure," I replied as I set everything down.
The curly-haired creature studied herself in the mirror as I quickly French braided her bangs. A million thoughts passed through her mind, each one of them punching from her eyes as they tried to escape.
"What's up, chica?" I asked. "You seem like you've got a lot on your mind."
Alexis paused before answering, likely weighing the pros and cons of giving an honest answer. "I'm nervous," she finally admitted.
The first day of third grade is a very good reason to be nervous, but she knows a lot about this party. For example, she has known for weeks who will be there. That is really the most important thing about a party, isn't it? We talked through all of the knowns, but that led her to start listing the unknowns.
"What if we have swimming today?"
"What if I don't like my teacher?"
"What if someone makes fun of me?"
What if. What if. What if. A million hypothetical unknowns fell from her mouth and plopped into my lap. I grabbed a few of them and threw them back, but I couldn't handle the volume. Finally, I stopped trying.
"Hey. Alexis. What if you decide that today is going to be a good day? Don't you think it will be?" I asked.
She hemmed and she hawed, but then Alexis lobbed back the words I have said to her many times over the years. "If I want to have a good day, I have to choose to have a good day. I know."
And she did.
Bottles. Pacifier. Blanket. Clothes. Bottles ... I choose a good day.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Reader Comments (6)
ahhh, she looks GREAT! Love that advice...i'm gonna use it on a horrible, no good day. Also, do i spy that her feet may have grown??
Great choice!!
3rd grade is a fantastic year! All of my kids Loved it! She will have a great day! I'm sending joy your way!
@Ginger--Not a chance! She can still wear the tennis shoes she wore on the first day of 1st grade.
She is so stylish! Hope daycare is going well for Miss Mila.
this made my eyes leak. you might have broken me with your stories of (one of) your incredible daughter(s).