Monday, September 8, 2008

Bringing home a monster...

Being 3 is a great big deal. Jackie's in school now and frankly, she likes them more than us. I guess Mommy is boring now. That's ok. Even I think I'm boring as I sit here recovering from surgery.

So last Thursday, Jackie goes for her second day of preschool. It's on a horse farm and the kids are outside for a good portion of the day. There's a huge playground where the kids end up at the end of the day. All of us pile in the car at 5 to pick her up and she refuses to leave. Bill drags her to the car, kicking and screaming.

She was so filthy she had dirt embedded in her scalp. Her tears made brown streaks down her face as she cried that she couldn't leave her friends.

So we get home, after she's hollering for 3 miles "Let me out of here!!!" referring, of course, to her car seat. We get into the garage and she decides she can't go inside. She's still crying, sobbing actually. It's clear to me that she didn't take her nap. The first sign would be that she's acting like the exorcist.

I try to get her into the house with the promise of a tubby full of bubbles. No dice. She tells me she won't be coming in until she's feeling better. Bill and Steffie had already provoked her to the point of screaming so I chased them away. I sat out in the garage with her and asked her what I could do for her.

She doesn't need to know that she crushed me by telling me to take her back to school. I'm actually very glad that she loves it there but I miss our quiet time together at home. We always have company now since I can't watch her alone, nor stay alone because of the medication.

Anyway, it took me well over a half hour to coax her inside. She wanted to tell me why she needed to be with her friends, about the kids who kept her from taking a nap, and how she got so dirty. I just listened. That's exactly what she needed to get over her mad.

She's a pip. She had her bath, a snuggle from Mommy and stopped being a monster. What else could a Mommy ask for???

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