Just How Grown Up is a Second Grader?

Posted on August 15, 2018 by Mama

Yesterday evening was “meet your teacher night” at my son’s school and today is our last official day of summer. Wow! I have absolutely no idea where it all went. Okay, so I have a few suspicions, but I probably won’t own up to the fact that I tried to cram way too much good stuff into a mere two and a half months (and I might do the same thing next year *grin*).

second grade — *PTA photo booth at Meet Your Teacher night.*

As usual, my son was a bit anxious about the school year but after he located his classroom, met his teacher and recognized a few peers he is now a bit more eager to get second grade started. Of course I would be happy if he was simply working his way backward and the first day of preschool was actually at hand. My sweet little boy is growing up so quickly and although I try to enjoy every new season of life, I’m not ready to cut the apron strings as soon as he might like.

Monday evening I asked him if he wanted me to walk him to his classroom on the first day of school. This has been the drill for the last two years and I thought it was simply a rhetorical question. Wrong!

“That’s so embarrassing,” he said.

I responded, “Really?”

*short silent pause*

“But you can walk me if you really want to,” he added.

That’s my boy! He is so on the fence when it comes to growing up, and if that is all I can get I’ll take it. I’ll let him make every justification in the book as long as it keeps him from morphing into a teenager at lightning speed. Yes, I want to walk him to class on the first day of school, and I bet I do it for as long as he lets me.

Something’s Fishy!

Posted on June 27, 2018August 5, 2018 by Mama

We added three new faces (and fins) to our family this week with the addition of our son’s long-awaited little fish. This boy has been begging for pet fish for weeks, and with our 10-day vacation earlier this month and a super full summer we managed to put off the purchase for quite some time. But let me say, this child was patient and persistent! So when we finally had a free evening earlier this week, we made the ~~leap~~ splash back into fish ownership, even if on a small scale (no pun intended).

We purchased a petite round tank from Wal-Mart with a fun color-changing light and small filter. We then picked out three small cold water fish, including a goldfish, black and gold fish and a tiny minnow. It wasn’t really the fish fantasy our son had in mind; but as the beginner that he is, we thought our choices were pretty smart.

As the former parents of a seriously old goldfish, hubs and I were comfortable setting up the tank for our new fishy friends and we went through all the necessary steps to make the transition as successful as possible. . . including the emphasis to our son that fish are tricky and sometimes die without obvious reason.

Watching three fish swim around and around in a round tank can be rather mesmerizing and my son and I spent at least half an hour snuggled up on the rug watching the little guys (or girls) swim off their little fins. Unfortunately, in just the brief period between fish freedom and bedtime two of the three fellas swam behind the filter and became stuck. . . as in seriously sucked to the intake grill. Yikes! We unplugged the culprit for the night and resigned ourselves to returning the first tiny tank and purchasing a new one. I cannot have that kind of fishicide on my hands!

After one last look at our fishy pets, their new guard cat (just work with me on that), and our sweet little sleeping son I drifted into a deep dreamy sleep of my own. The next thing I heard, at a quarter ’til six, was my son frantically calling his dad to help his goldfish stuck under a rock!

Footsteps, footsteps, flush and footsteps.

I quickly jumped out of bed to find a sad little face watching only two fish swim around and around in a round tank. *sigh*

This Mama’s Broken Heart and R.E.M. Sleep Cycle

Posted on April 16, 2018 by Mama

It’s not even nine o’clock and the coffee is gone. . . It’s going to be a long day.

Our son, for whatever reason, has been waking up in the absolute middle of the night convinced that someone is trying to get into our home to harm him. He cries, wants us to sleep with him and refuses to go back to sleep for hours. This has been going on for over a week now and we are all running on a lot less than full steam. I actually took a three-hour nap Saturday afternoon (after a trip to the Missouri Star Quilt Co. in Hamilton, but that’s another story) because I was so tired. It wouldn’t have been an issue but we had a party to attend and the babysitter’s arrival was the only thing that got me out of bed. Now, that’s embarrassing!

Last night I finally had enough (this mama likes her sleep); so after an hour of more of the same I finally told him if he couldn’t sleep he should get up and clean his room. And so he did! This must be serious. We have talked, reassured, cuddled and reasoned. We have checked doors, told stories and tried tough love. We have recalled happy things, thought about favorite places and read books. We have tried essential oils, counted sheep and yes, even suggested household chores. I just don’t know what else to do.

Old Man Winter reared his grumpy head again this weekend with bitter temps and snow flurries, so if Spring finally decides to stay for good this time we will be able to get outside and exercise more, which should help. We already limit our son’s electronic time to 30 minutes a day and after last night I’m restricting his TV viewing to PBS (he actually thought this one was a good idea). I stay on top of what he watches on a daily basis, but perhaps there have been fear triggers and mature subjects that have escaped my perception. Of course the kids at school talk about all matter of ill-advised subjects like Five Nights at Freddy’s, the movie It (Why are parents allowing their first graders to watch this stuff?) and what they saw on the news; but that environment is somewhat out of my control.

We have to figure this out, because it breaks a mama’s heart (and R.E.M. sleep cycle) to have a child in fear tears in the middle of the night without being able to make it all better. That’s what we mamas do — we fix things!

If you have any suggestions or consolations, please leave me a comment below. This mama needs some help (and some serious sleep)! Thank you.

photo credit: Real Cowboys Drive Cadillacs early morning (rest your head remix) via photopin (license)

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