First Day of Preschool

LB started preschool the week after Labor Day. He is going to the same school where he did the Parent's Day Out program last year. This year he will be going two mornings a week as part of their 3s program. Parent's Day Out ended up being a great experience for him and I think it served it's purpose. My hope when I signed up him up last year was that it would help with the transition to preschool. Well, when we walked in the building this August, a few weeks before school started to drop off some forms, LB declared, "This is my school!" I took that as a good sign. I started telling him towards the end of August that school was starting again soon and that he would be in the "big kid three year old room" and that he would have new teachers. When we visited before school started the director showed LB his new room and let him play in there for a while. His new teachers sent a letter to the kids with their pictures so we were able to start learning their names before school started. I also pulled out one of our old Music Together CDs with the song about how Mommies and Daddies come back. We listened to it over and over in the car and I loved hearing him belt out, "Whoever takes care of you comes back because they do love you."

The school does a good job of really easing the kids into it. The first day the parents stay for a bit and then just go down the hall for 30 minutes for a parent meeting and then that's it. Super short. The second day school is only an hour and a half. Finally, on the third day they stay the whole morning. On the first day I made sure to take pictures of LB with his new teachers so that I could update his Safety Book. He learned their names really fast this year so I'm glad I knew all these tricks already and wasn't starting from scratch like I was last year.

I attempted to get a few official first day pictures of him at home in the morning but this was the best I could do.

It was a beautiful morning and LB was really in good spirits. I expected a little more nervousness from him. He insisted on carrying his bag into the school. So precious.

Thankfully, there are several kids from his Parent's Day Out class that are now in the 3s room with him. He was happy to see several familiar faces. I stayed and played with him for a while and when it was time for the meeting I told him I would be gone for a tiny bit and he gave me a kiss and off I went. It was such a relief. After school I bribed him with a sucker and begged him to stand in front of the building so I could get a good picture. He accepted my bribe.

Perhaps I was a bit more nervous than he was. That afternoon we went to Tar.get and mid way through our shopping trip I noticed something was missing.

About 10 concerned citizens of Tar.get approached me to make sure I knew my son was missing a shoe, which made me feel a little dumb. Then when I got home D pointed out that I had LB's school name tag on the back of my shirt. I had forgotten he had put that there. At that point, I was feeling super dumb and decided I must have used all my emotional energy to get through that first day and had nothing left. I don't even want to think about what dumb things I will do on LB's first day of kindergarten.

Here's to hoping he has a great school year!

Unexpected Fun

Most of the fun activities and special treats we did this summer were all planned. I had a list of places and things I wanted to do with LB so I spent the summer trying to check things off the list. However, on this occasion we happened to be in the right place at the right time. Totally unplanned fun!

One day in mid August, LB convinced me to go to the OSU airport. Again. I was reluctant but I didn't have any other ideas for activities that day so off we went. As we were walking into the building, we walked past two men in suits. For some reason, LB thinks only pilots wear a jacket and tie. D is able to dress pretty casually at his office so I guess that is why LB associates a suit with pilots. As we were walking, LB says quite loudly, "Mommy! Look! Pilots!" The two men heard him and smiled. One of them started engaging LB and asking him about the planes LB was carrying and the planes on his shirt. LB is happy to have a conversation with almost anyone, especially if they want to talk about planes. So LB showed them his planes and told them how he is going to be a "pilot of jets" when he is older, etc. They were charmed. Then one of them hands me his business card and explains that he is with the company, Net Jets. I have only heard of them because LB and I spend so much time at the OSU airport and we often see planes owned by Net Jets taking off and landing. They are like a rental car company but for planes. And clearly, the pricing is a little different. A lot of athletes use them, like professional golfers and tennis players, as well as businesses. I looked at the card and the gentleman, Mr. Brown, was the Senior VP of Sales. I started to get a feeling we were in for something good. He told me they had a plane landing in about 30 minutes and if we were still around he would love to show LB their plane. Yes! (I didn't tell him that a typical trip is about 2 hours.) So LB and I went up to the observation tower and did our normal thing. About 30 minutes later a jet landed and I saw Mr. Brown walk out onto the runway. After it landed he looked up to the observation tower and waved us down. I hadn't said anything to LB because I didn't want to promise him something in case it didn't work out. I told him we were going out on the runway and that he was going to get to see a jet and probably go inside. His eyes got huge. We got out there and were introduced to the two actual pilots. One of them picked LB up right away and started showing him around the plane. He showed LB where he checks the oil and they looked in the engines and at the wheels. I was so excited for LB that I could hardly contain myself. I was pretty much holding back tears the entire time.

Then they let us get on the plane and LB got to sit in the cockpit. It was a tight squeeze so I didn't get any photos of him sitting in the cockpit but the other pilot let him push a lot of buttons and see them light up, which was a thrill. LB impressed him with his plane lingo as he referred to the steering wheel as the yoke. I also think LB just loved sitting in the big, leather seats and looking out onto the runway at all the other planes that were close by. The plane was gorgeous. They gave us some of the fancy Dean and Deluca snacks that they have for their passengers and then we had to go as they were flying somewhere else.

Look at that smile. Pure joy. We walked back into the terminal and headed up to the stairs to the tower. As we were going up the stairs, LB turned to me, wrapped his arms around my neck and said, "I'm so happy." I was too.

I think I got teary about the whole thing because it was just so generous. They are busy people and they took time out of their day to give a three year old a special experience. I think it's easy to get bogged down in all of the nastiness and meanness that exists in our world but this was a moment of true kindness. Don't you think we all need reminders of that every now and then? Net Jets is my new favorite company. If only I could afford their services....

Let's Make Music Together

Last week we attended LB's final music class of the year. We've been going every Monday since the fall. The program, Music Together, is a 10 week course and the new sessions don't start until January. I cried. Yep, you read that right. The teacher was singing the goodbye song and before I could stop them tears started rolling down my cheeks. I felt so lame but I couldn't help myself. This has been one of the greatest things LB and I have done together. Even now as I type, I want to cry. I'm not sure if it's the brillance of the program itself, or the amazing teacher or simply the power music can have on our souls but LB and I both loved every minute of every class. What it probably comes down to is that I feel immensely grateful to participate in a program like Music Together and to see my son so happy and thriving. Music takes hold of him in a way that nothing else does. Those 45 minutes of music class bring him so much joy that he is either smiling, carefully observing the teacher or dancing the entire time. Watching him participate so willingly and happily each week has been such a gift. In the end, I imagine it was that deep sense of gratitude that caused the tears to flow.

LB fell in love with the teacher, Leigh, at the very first class. I did too. He brings her name up several times a day and has since the moment she picked up her guitar and started to sing, "Hello Everybody." She has a way of making you feel comfortable right from the start. And it turned out we shared some connections that would surface over the first couple of sessions. A few weeks into the class, Leigh mentioned that she would be heading out of state to visit family so we weren't going to have class the following week. She explained that her parents live in Kenya, where her father is a physician, and this would be her only chance this year to see them. It hadn't come up yet that LB was born in Ethiopia so after class I told her and we were both excited that we shared the bond of Africa. We chatted a bit about some unique experiences of being in Africa and how hard it is to explain how poverty, joy, hope and despair all live side by side to people who haven't been there. And how being there really makes you question all "the stuff" we cling to here in the States when our friends in Africa clearly find happiness without. Then Leigh turned to LB and looked him in the eye and said, "We are so glad you are here." It was not in an "America is better and you are better off here" kind of way but in a sincere "I am so glad to know you and to be making music with you" kind of way. I almost cried then. It turns out that our connection to Leigh didn't stop there. A few weeks later, she told us a story about going to her college reunion. The point of her story was how things were going okay and she was having nice conversations with people but it wasn't until the music came on and people started dancing that really paved the way for  the fun to begin and for memories to be made. However, I only half heard her story at that point because I got such an overwhelming feeling that we shared the same alma mater. I knew Earlham's reunion was that weekend and I'm sure several colleges have reunions in the fall. But I just felt with 100% certainty that she went to Earlham. I just couldn't shake that Earlham vibe. After class, I asked her and when "Earlham" came out of her mouth I just wanted to hug her. It's not everyday you meet someone who went to your teeny tiny but incredibly unique college in Eastern Indiana. Leigh is amazing and is definitely a huge part of what makes music class so enjoyable.

Clearly, the other part is the music itself. Music Together provides you with a CD of a collection of 25 songs. They give you two of them so you can have one playing in the car and the other at home. We'll get a new song collection at the next session. And they aren't songs like the itsy bitsy spider but are songs I don't mind listening to in the car even if LB isn't with me. You don't sing all the same songs at every class but Leigh mixes it up each class while still following a similar pattern. I actually wasn't aware there was a pattern until LB pointed it out me around week 3. Yes, he's smarter and more observant than I am. Leigh brings out various instruments throughout class and there is a lot of movement and dancing as well. During the free dance, Leigh will usually pick a song that the parents will enjoy too. Leigh is quick to point out that the kids don't have to be participating in an obvious way to still be learning and benefitting from the music. There are several kids who run around or roll on the floor and don't seem to be listening. However, I was with one of those kids at the park the other day and he was on the swing and was clear as day, in the sweetest voice, singing one of the songs from music class. The connections in the brain are being made just by being there.

One of the things we do in every class is that the second to last song is a lullaby song. The two lullaby songs in the most recent collection were Shenandoah and Shady Grove. She chose Shenandoah for the last class. Leigh turns off the lights and encourages you to cuddle or rock or rub your child's back. LB and I were on the floor, he was curled up and I was rubbing his back and I started to think about how wonderful that moment in class is for attachment. And then I realized it wasn't just confined to that moment but that actually the entire 45 minutes of singing and dancing together is all about attachment. I started to have some regret that we didn't do something like this much sooner. Even though I feel like our attachment went pretty smoothly it still would have been wonderful and helpful, especially given LB's love of music. If you have the opportunity to do this with your child then I couldn't encourage you more. I wish I had thought of music more as an attachment tool in the beginning. Thankfully, attachment is an ongoing process and we are lucky to be doing this now. So on this last day of November, I am especially thankful for music.

"Music in the soul can be heard by the universe."
-Lao Tzu