Milestone Day

 I am aware that sometimes when my kids reach a milestone, it can be one for me, too.  Last Wednesday, I took Abbey with me to drop Adam off to school for the first time.  It may not sound like a big deal, but I'm not just walking him to the door.  There's a whole procedure which includes him getting his name tag, putting it on the fridge hanging to show he's there, hanging up his coat and bag, putting hid folder in his mailbox and then finding his seat, where he has to practice writing his name and I help.  And then I would always guide him into playtime and help him socialize well with his peers.

I had started leaving the week before before play time was over.  I knew it was time to let him stand on his own two feet learning how to socialize and the teachers thought so, too.  He's come along way.  This would be the first day I left right away.

With Abbey, there's always the concern with whether or not she'll act out.  As with most two year olds.  But she's been doing better and I knew it was time.  She walked right into the classroom and helped herself to a lollipop.  While I wasn't thrilled about this at 9am, I know when to pick my battles.  She was kind of walking around while Adam did his routine, me stressed and hurrying him, waiting for her to get into something.  But the lollipop turned out to be a great distraction and when we sat down to do Adam's name, I was able to make her sit with us because she knows she has to eat sitting down.  It went well and then I left.  I felt bad, worried that Adam wouldn't have me as back-up to help him through play time.

I decided to take Abbey up to Barnes and Noble, something Adam and I did a lot when he was little.  She has been doing better and she is even better when it's just her and me.  Do you think she was happy to sit at the cafe with me and eat a cookie?

Afterwards, she was much better than I expected....she did run around some, but she didn't take off like she has the last few times we went there.  I could keep up with her.  And in the kid's area, she was quite taken with Thomas and actually played for a while, and I was able to "shop" in that area without fear she would run away.  I actually got her to leave without a tantrum and when we were waiting in line, she didn't yell.  She did play with some stuff around her, but she wasn't breaking anything!  It was a milestone day.  She had moved to another level in which, on occasion, I could take her places without knowing there'd probably be a tantrum or run off.

We went and got Adam and right away his teachers met me at the door to tell me that Adam had had the BEST day ever.  He was talking to everyone and did all his work. They couldn't believe it...he was even talking to teachers in the hallway!  He got a sticker he was so proud of.  I had been worried about leaving him alone and he had excelled.  I was very proud of him.

Their milestones sometimes feel like mine because I have to allow them to get there and soar.  I felt like we all got a bit "bigger" that day.