Building Cathedrals
My little boy is a homebody through and through. Yes, he loves to play with the boys in our neighborhood and is always asking for play-dates, and yes, once we arrive somewhere he usually has a pretty great time. But his tendency is, and has been for the 5 1/2 years of his life, to stay home and play, create, read, and generally just BE at home. I’ve grown to appreciate this part of Christopher’s personality: he can occupy himself and become absorbed in creative play, he is happy to sit on the couch and read stories all morning, and he loves it when our family has a “special breakfast” on mom and dad’s bed. Yes, it can be hard to get out the door for activities, but these transitions have become somewhat easier with time.
One transition that has been somewhat difficult recently is getting Christopher off to school in the morning. Now that Christopher is in Kindergarten, the school bus picks him up at 7:43 a.m. and drops him back home at 3:23 p.m., quite a long day for a 5 year-old! His preference would be to wake up, play in his room for half an hour, eat a leisurely breakfast, and watch a show on PBS Kids. Then, I think he might be ready to head to school 🙂 The reality is that my mornings are often spent trying to move my little guy along from one task to the next: making his bed, getting dressed, and eating breakfast, not to mention the dreaded task of putting on his socks and shoes. The idea is that C would do all of these tasks by himself, and if he moves quickly enough he should have enough time to play for a little while before the bus arrives. However, because he is reluctant to head out the door in the first place, C often drags through each task and we’re usually rushing out the door just in time to meet the bus.
As a mother, I would like to send my child off to school with lovely, positive thoughts, and some days I’ve been more successful than others. I’ve found that it helps to stick to a morning routine and to be organized and cheerful myself. On the mornings when C still says, “Mommy, I don’t want to go to school today, it’s such a long day,” I’ve learned to say “That’s okay, buddy, some days we all just wish that we could stay home. But I hope you have a good time once you’re at school, and I hope you’ll tell me about it when you get home.”
How have you wonderful mothers dealt with sending a reluctant child off to school? I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences! Thanks, and God bless on this Monday!
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