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August 27, 2010

The First Day of School, Take Three

On Monday, Chipmunk went to school for about an hour before his adenoid/tonsil surgery.  I fretted accordingly and dropped him (“I am NOT going to circle time, you NAUGHTY MAMA!  WAIT, give me ten kisses!”) off and then hovered in the hallway, watching through the window on the door.

For the first half an hour or so, I fought back tears.  I took deep breaths. My son went through bins of toys, squeezing and arranging.  Squeezing and arranging.  It looked weird.  It looked jarring.  The other kids went to circle time, they danced.  My son squeezed.  I panicked some more, picturing all the sorts of worst case scenarios you picture when you’re already frazzled knowing you’re about to drive to the hospital for a surgical procedure on your four-year-old.

More deep breaths occurred, kind of.

I walked away for a while and then came back to check on him.  He was in the circle, but squeezing and clenching his fingers in front of his face.  His spot is right next to the teacher.  (She listened to my suggestion to move him there, because she is awesome.)

Then I checked again twenty minutes later to find him doing show and tell.  In front of the whole class.  He beamed shyly, holding a baby monkey toy “buddy,” a matchbox car and then a dinosaur.  He squeezed them in front of the kids and did his growling/roaring noise.

I did a little dance of joy in the hallway.

Later, when I opened the door to pick him up, his teacher asked the kids.  ”Do you remember what his toys said?”  And the kids growled and roared.  Because my son?  Is the best at roaring.  They thought he was cool.  He is cool.

That will be my happy thought for a long time.


This may or may not be related:

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Tags: , , | Posted In: Uncategorized
  • http://awholelotofnothing.net A Whole Lot of Nothing

    It’s amazing when they settle in. AMAZING.

  • Anonymous

    He definitely has an exceptional roar. And my goodness, he’s looking so grown up.

  • http://www.pigtailpals.com Melissa Wardy

    ROAR! Happy thought indeed! :)

  • http://www.mommyalwayswins.com/ Colleen – Mommy Always Wins

    Four-year-olds ARE awesome that way, aren’t they? Happy first day of school!

  • http://www.avitable.com Avitable

    Roaring is a good skill to have!

    I’m happy that you’re happier.

  • http://www.miss-britt.com Miss Britt

    Wait – did he change his clothes AND get a haircut??

  • http://www.loulousviews.com Loukiazigoumis

    That is amazing. :) And he’s so cute.

  • Anonymous

    that made me (happy) cry.

  • http://www.ourincrediblejourney.net Heather

    Could he be any cuter? And roaring is a VERY important skill, because, you remember, there are dangerous animals out there!

    So happy for you…those good moments make the bad ones somehow seem not as bad!

  • mommymae

    you are both awesome. so thrilled monday went so well all around.

  • http://www.kunklebabystyle.blogspot.com Kunklebaby

    Awww! Today was our first day of school too. I was a little “less” successful at holding back the tears.

  • Hamlet’s Mistress

    So proud of your little man!! This made me smile.

  • http://www.grumblegirl.com Grumble Girl

    All choked up. And loving it. And him. And he IS cool! Just like his excellent mama…

  • Anonymous

    AAAGGHHHH SO HAPPY!!! I’m so so happy for all of you :)

  • Anonymous

    I’m all weepy right now. I am so feeling that joy for you right now, and especially….for him. What a beautiful day.

  • Jill

    He is just so darn adorable. It brings a tear to read how lovingly you write about him.

  • Anonymous

    I wish you didn’t post all of your child’s issues on the internet. I wish you didn’t call him quirky or any other name. I would have hated for my parents to write all of my personal moments (esp health issues) on the internet for people to find when I grow up. This is NOT your story to tell, it’s his. you are just a caretaker, you haven’t a notion of how you mayy be impacting his life by recording him and publishing it all over gods green earth. i wish you didn’t do it. what’s the point? if you need help, support, a network you can get it privately. if you need attention you can get it another way too. i’m not writing this to be mean, im writing on behalf of your boy.

  • http://www.miss-britt.com Miss Britt

    Dude. This comment is soooo 2007.

  • http://www.mommymelee.com Maria Melee

    I guess you’ll have to trust that I know my son, myself, and this story well enough to tell it. You’ll also have to trust that I spend a great deal of time considering what I choose to share here and how I share it.

    I wish you didn’t read this blog if it bothers you, on behalf of my son or not.

  • Hamlet’s Mistress

    GAH!!! I meant to hit reply and I hit LIKE! DISLIKE! DIS- LIKE! A hundred times DISLIKE!. Gia, since you clearly DISLIKE this whole blog, perhapes it would be best to just see your way out of it… on all our behalves.

  • Acaciabrooke

    You must not have children,Gia, if you did you would understand that a child’s struggles ARE his parents’ struggles. If Maria wants to reach out to other parents with special needs children, if she finds support and community on this blog how can that be bad? And how is it any of your buisness? I think if her son reads this one day he will see only how deeply his mother loved him and how ferociously she worked to find him the help he needed to make his way in this world.

  • JessJY

    I personally appreciate the fact that Maria shares this with us. My 6 year old son is very similar and it has helped me more than you know to read about Chipmunk and know that I am NOT ALONE. Maybe that’s selfish, but if that is ever explained to Chipmunk when he is older, I am sure he would be proud of his mother and how she helped another mother somewhere out there is the universe.

  • http://twitter.com/mom2nji jenni-lee

    I got chills for him. You know what is awesome about little kids in particular? They won’t notice his little quirks and if they do it doesn’t matter. Noah is a tip toe walking, hand flapping, stimming machine and still has tons of friends. So will Chipmunk. Because he is awesome. You are doing awesome by him. Don’t listen to the nasties. Reaching out and sharing are parts of being the best parents we can be.

  • http://www.thepalinode.com palinode

    Yes, one day potential employers will google “Chipmunk” and find this post. “Holy shit!” they’ll say. “He had adenoid surgery in grade school! And to think we were going to hire him and make him happy for life. I bet his caretaker-mother never knew she was ruining her son’s future with this post. But it’s a good thing we thought to randomly search for twenty year old blog entries with the word ‘chipmunk’ in them”.

    • Maria Melee

      This wins.

  • http://awholelotofnothing.net A Whole Lot of Nothing

    I wasn’t going to reply until I read that you think parents are “are just a caretaker.”

    That’s just about the most asinine statements I’ve ever heard about parenting.

    I know Maria personally. Because she has shared the issues she’s had parenting her son, I’ve been able to provide her with my own insights as I, too, have a “quirky” child.

    Women are SO incredibly fortunate to now have supportive communities outside of our neighborhood as was typical just 5 years ago. I support Maria’s decision to share the trials she experiences with her children. She is not giving out deeply personal information. What she shares are things anyone would be privy to within any group of friends.

    I, with her friends, support her.

  • http://www.sendchocolatenow.com/ Tina @SendChocolateNow

    Wow. Gia, you haven’t a clue about parenting, about blogging, about social media or about how to give support. If you want to speak for someone, speak for yourself, about what you know. The parenting/blogging community is legion, and those with special needs kids can be rabid on behalf of their children. For every person who writes the story, there are many more who benefit from reading it. It’s what we do.

    Maria, keep on keeping on. You rock.

  • Anonymous

    Well, here’s my kid’s social security number, and we live in Baltimore:
    891 – 00 – 0000.
    Gia needs to get a grip.

  • Alisha

    your kid IS awesome. YOU are awesome. and BRAVE. Thank you for being, for sharing little bits with us.

  • Jodifur

    You may know this already, but Michael spent a year “not sitting in circle in time.” I had preschool conferences about it. I had him evaluated for ADHD because of it. Someone suggested I hold him back because of it. He has a March b-day. I met with the public school, and they basically laughed, laughed, at that concern. I know you have a lot of concerns, and rightly so, and I’m not telling you you shouldn’t. I just wish someone had told me that a lot of “neurotypical kids” don’t sit at circle time. I finally observed his preschool class and it is true.

    And Gia79-if you don’t like a blog, no one is forcing you to read it.

  • http://www.morningsidemom.com/ Caroline

    On the contrary, your love and care and connection will give Chipmunk everything in the world, and more. Plus, it is amazing to have a parent’s love documented in such a way, he will adore these words some day. Also, what your writing gives other parents who are struggling and wondering and trying to figure it all out is a gift like none other. You and Chipmunk and your love for your son are honored and respected. Congratulations to your kiddo on a fantastic day at school. Much love, my friend.

  • http://www.dctheblog.com Alana Morales, Author

    Awe, so cute!! And good for you for letting him find his way in class – that takes a lot. Never mind the flaming troll comment…

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  • Krittikae

    Good thing the internet wasn’t around when you were a kid then. Negativity isn’t helpful. If you don’t want to know about her child, don’t read the post.

  • Anonymous

    I’m glad his first day went well. For both of you. He is just adorable. I only wish I had been familiar with blog when my Haley started school, so that I could’ve captured it like you have here.

  • http://www.meandmine.org Allison Zapata

    WOO-HOO! GO CHIPMUNK!! :)

  • cass

    I got goosebumps reading that last bit. Your blog shows me how amazing of a mother you are. Keep on writing!

  • Dluvscoke

    Oh…I LOVE this post!
    #1- Because I have a son with special needs and
    #2- Because I am a teacher aide in Kindergarten

  • Anonymous

    This is soooo great to hear!

  • Alladither

    What a lovingly written post. I’m very happy for your and chipmunk’s goo day!

  • Kami (@Workingmomfence)

    Maria, I hope Chipmunk is doing ok post surgery. The two weeks after the surgery can be hard, but I cannot emphasize enough how worth it it is. My 2 and a half year old had his tonsils and adenoids removed back in May and he’s a different kid now. He actually eats. He’s gained weight. He’s grown. He’s happy. He doesn’t snore at all anymore…his quality of life (and mine) has vastly improved. For us, it was totally the right thing. I’m thinking of you guys! love, Kami