It’s two days until Nora starts school. I’m off work this week, pretending to be a stay at home mom. I like it, obviously.
I wanted Nora to have some transition time between schools. The idea of sending her to preschool one day and kindergarten the next seemed callous.
So we’ve been running errands, collecting the last few items on her supply list. Yesterday we went to a kid/parent yoga class, where she got knocked down twice by rambunctious seven-year-old boys without shirts. It was good practice in getting back up. She was clearly impressed with their boisterousness and even took her shirt off to match. (No, I didn’t stop her, it was hot and she’s three.) We’re also building a raised bed for the garden and picking out a paint color for the bathroom.
We’re sewing some wild oats as well. Since nail polish and temporary tattoos are verboten at Waldorf school, she has her finger and toenails painted, and sports a horse and a cow tattoo on her belly and a unicorn on her forearm. Wednesday night we will cermoniously remove them at bathtime.
We plan to spend the next two days doing fun things, but in the back of my mind, there’s a desire to keep her from harm long enough to get through the first day of school without illness or injury. She’s getting over a cold; her nose needs to stop running so she doesn’t get sent home on Thursday, and I need to make sure she doesn’t break any little bones. This is causing a few inhibitions when it comes to selecting activities. Swimming? What if she slips on wet floor and goes to school with a big bruise on her forehead? Preschool carnival rides at Oaks Park? What if she picks up a new virus or gets hurt on a ride?
I’m not normally like this, but something about a big milestone makes me cautious. I don’t want to blow it for her. But, of course, I don’t want her few days at home filled with banal trips to the grocery store and home depot.
Nora needs to practice getting up when bigger kids knock her down, and I need to practice letting her fall.