Ryder's First Day

Well, his face didn't light up exactly.

Yeah, he came running to me, and yeah, his arms were wide open, but he wasn't happy- poor little guy was sobbing his heart out. His favorite teacher looked frazzled, her hair all messed up, and her eyes with dark circles under them. Kinda reminded me of the baby sitter in The Incredibles.

His teacher said he cried for about ten minutes after Dad had dropped him off (who- is not a robot after all- he did feel the massive tug at his heart when he turned his back on his son to leave him there). But, Ryder managed to pull himself together, and actually sit at a table with the other children to have a snack, and he pulled himself together to wash and dry his hands all by himself in the little people sinks. He also managed to have a FANTASTIC time outside with his new friends. And no, he didn't beat anyone up. AND, he kept his shoes on. AND, he napped, just like the rest of the little ones.

But when he woke up, he must have been completely disoriented. He napped a little later than his usual nap at home- the whole school naps from 1pm to 3pm. Ryder usually naps from noon to 2 or 2:30. So, he fell asleep at 1pm, in his new camo sleeping bag, and frantically woke up out of sorts around 2:15. From that moment on, his favorite teacher said he all he wanted to do was to be held. She couldn't even change the other children's diapers because Ryder was pulling her pants down (way to go, kid).

After I scooped him up, I was handed a "Toddler Daily Activity Report". Of the eight skill paths that they did that day, he participated in two (motor skills, and self-help skills). He had no interest in the others (language arts, cognitive development, creative art, music/movement, social science, and nature study). WE'VE got a WINNER!!!!! Ohhhh I love my little boy so much. What a trooper- rolling up his sleeves and being the little man that he is while I go to work so that I can try to be something more than just Ryder's mommy. No wait- I take that back. There is no such thing as "JUST" Ryder's mommy. Because other mom's will tell you, being someone's mommy is not easy. Not one bit. In fact, its the hardest job a woman will ever undertake. And its the hardest job that a woman will take but will never be trained for. They don't have mommy schools. But wait....I digress.

Tomorrow is another day. He'll be fine. Just today when we took him to the playground after work, we could see that he was incredibly social with the other children, and met a new friend named Oscar who played soccer with him. He went down a MASSIVE (just in case you need more clarification - HUGE) slide all by himself. He's only a year and a half (hit APPLAUSE button)!!!

My patience and my pride in him has increased by ten, just in the last two days. Wow. Imagine- by next week, to me- he'll be making the sun and the moon collide with his two little arms. OHHHHHH the love. I can't even handle it.