NaBloPoMo - Entry 22

Yesterday I was struck again how differently parents can..."parent".

When I was walking the kids along the front sidewalk to the gate, I saw one of those huge SUVs stop in the parking lot next to the rock section in front of the gate area. This typically happens with some kids. There parents stop there and they hop out. I actually park my car on the far end of the parking lot and walk my kids into the gated area so that I can give them final hugs. It's just something that I do. It's not like I'm rushing to get to an office since I work from home. It takes just a few minutes to walk them in, so I do it.

Anyway, I parked and we got out. I noticed how chilly the air was. There was a breeze so it definitely felt colder than the 55 degrees indicated by my car dashboard.

"Thank goodness both kids put on their jackets like I asked them to," I thought to myself.

As we walked along the sidewalk and got about halfway to the gate, the Bear stopped walking.

"Mom, can you help me close my jacket?"

Now my son? He's hot-blooded like me. When it's hot outside, I tend to feel a lot hotter than the Hubs. When it cools down and the Hubs decides to put on jeans, I am still wearing shorts. So if the Bear was asking me to close his jacket, then it was chilly. It was the darn wind!

Anway, I see this big SUV stop and I see at the corner of my eye that someone hopped out. As I turn right to walk my kids into the gate, I notice the person who got out of the car. It was a little girl. From her size (and her backpack), she was obviously one of the kindergarten kids. It wasn't her size that got my attention. It was the fact that she was wearing a short-sleeved dress and no jacket. Not even a sweater!

This parent is able to afford this huge SUV. This parent doesn't take the 5 minutes to park their vehicle and walk their child into the gated area. This parent doesn't think to put a JACKET on their child when it's 55 degrees (not counting the wind factor) outside. WTF?

Granted, it generally does warm up pretty quickly once the sun gets higher in the sky. So by 9:30am it's comfortable. But it was breezy yesterday. AND it was at least 15 minutes before the kids were allowed inside the classroom. So that little girl? Had to sit outside in a dress and no jacket.

So you parents out there? Be sure to have a light jacket or sweater (at least) stashed in your car's trunk. I mean,just in case your child runs out of the house without a jacket and you figure out as you're driving them to school that it is definitely a cold morning. Okay? Please? THANKS!

Then again there was a funny moment inside the gated area that I found funny. The gate all the kids walk into in the morning enters into the kindergarten play area. So normally when we walk in every morning, the Bear sits down with his friends while I walk with the Princess to the back "big kids" play area. I give her hugs behind the wall and then walk back to the Bear to give him his final hug.

Yesterday he was surrounded by a bunch of his buddies. As he saw me coming, his eyes focused on mine. I walked into the fray of boys, knelt down, and let him give ME a hug (he slipped in a kiss on my forehead as well). When he finished giving me a hug, one of his buds showed me something he had brought to school. I asked him a question about it and he answered. Another boy told me something and I responded. And then another of his buds told me about his older brother getting a phone. I noticed this last boy's shoes were BOTH untied. And I asked him to step closer to me so I could tie them.He kept talking to me about his brother. And then another little girl came up to chat with us as well. I made sure to look at each one as they said something. When I finished tying the laces, I stood up.

"Well. It was nice talking to you all. Have a great day. Be sure to listen to Ms. D so you can earn stickers! Bye Bear! See you after school!"

And with that? I was gone. What struck me was that they swarmed like bees. They all had something to say. I mean, all the kids know that I'm the Bear's mom. I walk him in every day. But did they swarm because they were copying each other? Or did they swarm because they saw that I was actually listening to them and responding to what they had to say? I'll never know. But that just reiterates to me that walking my kids in and chatting with them for those last moments in a relaxed manner with a final squeezy-hug is something that some of these other kids don't get.