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Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Every Silver Lining Has a Gray Cloud

Today my two kids and I had the privilege of attending a fellow playgroup member’s birthday party. My friend is one of those creative crafty moms (in other words not me) so there were tons of fun craft activities to do. I made sure my younger son (YS) was settled in his infant carrier next to me, and then I unpacked changes of clothing for myself for the next three days, several picnic baskets and two brand new novels to prepare for my older son (OS) to sit on my the lap. Okay, maybe I exaggerated the tiniest bit, but in all seriousness I did make sure I had a beverage and was well situated because OS tends to be on the quieter side and usually likes to spend at least a good 10-15 minutes on my lap when we go to playgroup and playdates.

Thus I was pleasantly surprised when, after a mere few minutes, he wandered off to play and participate in some of the activities. By the time the party was in full swing, he was playing with the other kids and having a great time. “Wow, preschool really is having a great effect on him!” I thought to myself as I gave myself an imaginary high five. I would have done a real one, but I didn’t want to draw attention away from the birthday boy. Just kidding.

OS had a great time at the party and in fact didn’t want to leave. Those good spirits continued when we got home. I did a little recap of the party with OS and asked him if he had a nice time playing with the other kids and doing crafts. He did. This time I gave myself an imaginary pat on the back for a job well done in deciding to send him to preschool this year.

Then it was time for a bath….

You know the saying that every gray cloud has a silver lining? How about every silver lining has a gray cloud? OS hoped into the tub and started to wash all the paint off of him. Everything was going fine. He was having a great time in the bathtub. Then he leaned over the tub with a mouth full of water and spit on the floor. Yes, you read that right. My sweet little preschooler was acting like a disgusting teenager. I was not expecting this for at least another 10 years. Did he turn 13 without me knowing it? The first 3 years have gone by so fast that perhaps I missed another 10 years. I was so shocked I could barely speak. Then he did it again and laughed. I very calmly announced that if he did it again, the bath would be over immediately. That seemed to solve the problem for the immediate future.

I guess what I hadn’t fully realized is that in growing up, kids learn some of the stuff you want them to learn and some stuff you wish they had never seen. At some point I will hopefully be able to curb his spitting (at the very least, maybe he’ll do it behind my back giving me the impression that I am an excellent mother because I curbed my child’s spitting habit). In the meantime, I am so thrilled with the positive aspects of preschool, that I can tolerate a little spit.

A. Elliot’s Lesson Learned: A little spit isn’t that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things.

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posted by Alex Elliot @ 9:22 PM   2 comments
2 Comments:

  • At 10/12/2006 5:33 PM, Blogger Suzanne said…

    I don't know. It seems like spitting is one of those things that pre-schoolers sort of figure out for themselves and like to test out. Jim Greenman, who writes and lectures on child care facility design (which is how I know him), always calls kids "messy little scientists" in his work. I always crack up at that because it is so true!

     

  • At 10/12/2006 7:57 PM, Blogger bethandrobert said…

    Maybe your OS shared something with my DD because she expresses her dislike for peas by leaning over her high chair and spitting them out of her mouth. YUCK!

     
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Name:Alex Elliot
Home:MA, United States
About Me:Professional Mom of two cats, a dog, an ant farm, and oh yeah...two boys: a 6 year old and a 3 year old. Also found in my house is my husband who is known on this blog as The Big Giraffe.
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For those of us who didn't get an instruction manual with our babies and for whom parenting hasn't always gone as planned. On a more serious note this blog is about supporting a woman's ability to make her own choices about parenting including the choice, for whatever reason, to bottle feed her babies formula.

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