First week done!

We finished our first week of kindergarten! At the risk of sounding like the worst mother in the world let me just say that I LOVED the first week of school. Michael didn't love it as much as I did. I read an article that pretty much summed up my feelings about this week, you can find it here. While I did miss Michael, and it turns out I missed him a lot more than I thought I would, this was a good week, if you took my blood pressure trust me it was lower than the week before. I love Michael dearly but he isn't the easiest child. He is so smart but he constantly needs something, this was exhausting when he was an only child but manageable, but with two younger siblings I must admit that there are days where it is just crushing. He "needs" something from the moment he wakes up until the moment when he collapses in exhaustion. He fights with his brother constantly, will not entertain himself, and goes from one activity to the next leaving a swath of destruction in his path. With him at school things were... quieter. We missed him tons, and we were early for pickup every day because we missed him, but there was also another piece that was just well... relieved. Relieved that for 6 hours I didn't have to plan the activities, break up the constant violence between him and Zach (mostly him beating Zach), or fight with him over every little thing. I didn't have to clean up after every snack and meal, I just had to make sure they were packed and ready, and we didn't fight over lunch because he wants a ham sandwich every day. Zach was happier too, Michael loves to imagine and to play but he LOVES to be in control which makes things tough for Zach. This week Zach was able to be in control, move at his own pace, and play with the best toys. Sure waking Michael up in the dark wasnt great, and the screaming from pickup until bedtime was a little bit frustrating, but the fact that he was at school and that his energy and curiosity were being channeled into something good was just liberating. The article said it best:

"I exhale deeply as I get into the car, realizing that for the entire ride home there will be no bickering. No one will be touching or almost touching or making an offensive noise just to piss the other off. I will not have to regulate and separate all day long when playtime turns to wartime. I might, though I dare not dream it out loud, get to pee with the door closed at some point during the day.

I know that my son, for once, will have no lack of interaction. He can talk to his heart’s content with other kids who have the same level of enthusiasm about life in general. He will be constantly occupied, his mind not slowly unraveling with boredom. His hands will be busy. His brain will be busy.

I'm able to enjoy my time with him more fully because I'm not burnt out by his never-ending needs. Kindergarten is making me a better mother, and I’m not about to go looking for an excuse to cry over it when I can simply be happy for my son, for me for both of us."

So that's how this week went for us. Sure we missed him, but at the end of the week I think that Michael at school was good for everyone. There was less yelling overall, we had moments where the checklist was complete enough that we could just sit and enjoy each other's company, we could just sit and watch a movie, read Harry Potter or go play in the backyard without worrying the the 10,000 mess he'd made needed to be cleaned up. So here's to another amazing week!