Tuesday, September 04, 2012

My Kids are All in School and I'm Not Crying

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You know those moms who have all their kids in school and so you see them on the trail walking their dogs? Like two moms walking dogs and having a full-on conversation that is not broken into 15 parts? You know the moms you pass when you have your little ones halfway strapped in the double jogger while you do interval training because you have to stop every 4 seconds to pick up a dropped toy, mitigate an argument, hand over a new snack, wipe a nose, and answer a question about why the sky is blue?

I call those dog-walking moms Level Three Moms.
Here's my breakdown:
Level One Mom: You have little ones at home. All the time. No one is in school of any kind and a trip out of the house is kind of a hassle. Your house is always a disaster and you can often be found in  your jammies. All day long.
Level Two Mom: At least one of your kids is in school. So you get dressed and made up. Sometimes. Like when you have to go sign a kid into preschool or something.
Level Three Mom:  You have at least part of the day where all three kids are in some sort of school. And yes, juvenile hall counts.

Today I became a Level Three Mom. Jordis started preschool. Oh. My. Goodness. Because from what I read elsewhere on the Internet and on the Book de la Face I feel like I am supposed to cry and say "Where has the time gone?" But I know where the time has gone. It has been eight years of constant care and love and frustration and elation and dirty diapers and snotty noses and a million meals and talking back and hugs and rubbing aching legs in the middle of the night and playdates and milestones and homework and whining and meltdowns (of both mom and child) and singing and laughter and awesome child-picked outfits and birthdays and prayers and tears and reading and bribery and discipline and cuddles and excitement and . . .  and then some. It has been a wonderful and challenging season and a wonderful and challenging season is ahead of us. Yes, I will miss them when they are in school. But it's kinda cool, too.


It's only 2 1/2 hours of preschool in the middle of the day for four days a week for my little Jordy Bordy but I will be able to:
1. Volunteer in her class without having to make childcare arrangements for anyone.
2. Find Wolfie and Trader Joes all by myself.
3. Do yard duty at the big kids' school. Wearing a fanny pack and bright orange vest. Winning.
4. Walk our new pup on the trail without a stroller.
5. Go to lunch with my husband or a friend or my mom or another Level Three Mom.
6. Take a nap without having to put on a show for anyone.
7. Work on my speaking stuff.
8. Blog.
9. Spend time with God.
10. Clean the house without someone chasing me around uncleaning it.

Any other Level Three Moms out there who are not crying? And if you are a homeschool mom, you'll have to make your own level classifications. Not sure how that works.








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