We’ve been back from our vacation for almost a week, and I’m still struggling to remember how we executed our daily routine. I still find myself, standing in the middle of a room, finished with a task but stuck in neutral until I can recall what’s supposed to happen next.
It’s taking us a whole to get through our mornings. It’s been our intention all week to get B back to school, but we just haven’t managed it. The jet lag and the exhaustion have just been too much.
B started school last December, and it took him a while (as in, months) to really feel comfortable, and even longer before he showed any real enthusiasm about going. I was worried that after over a month away, we’d be right back to square one in terms of school. All week, he’s been saying, “Not today. I’ll go tomorrow”, and each time, when it gets to be “tomorrow”, he still isn’t ready to go. He mentioned missing some of his friends and teachers a few times while we were away, but I still didn’t know how rocky the transition back to daily preschool was going to be.
Turns out, it was not a problem. This morning, we got up, got back to our morning routine (as much as we could remember how to do it — I forgot to eat breakfast) and went to school. On the way there, B seemed relatively upbeat, but didn’t say a lot when I asked him if he was excited to go back. When we arrived, his indoor shoes had been misplaced, and I was braced for a meltdown. He was pretty put out that his shoes had been moved (egads!) and were dusty (the horror!) but once we got that ironed out, he strolled down the hall to his classroom, marched through the door, announced that everyone had missed his birthday, and after a quick hug from the teacher (only the German-speaking one — turns out the English-speaking one is on vacation) his best friend came up, took his hand, and they went off to play. He didn’t hug me or say goodbye. He didn’t even look over his shoulder.
Last fall, I never thought we’d get to this point. I think today was harder for me than for him — I really missed him today. I love having him home with me, but it turns out that school is just fine with B these days, and I’m so glad.