Three, Two and One

And then there was one as little Rosalie and I motored away from school drop off number two. At first it seemed odd. My instinct double checking care seats for the other children. Is the van lighter now? Seems so. My hands are fidgety at the ready to pass a snack, grab a fallen treasure, make a mom, “cut it out” gesture. Rosalie is chatting in one year old speak in the back, comforting me. My mind is jittery. I could visit the bookstore with one child, albeit a toddler but just one toddler, easy breezy! Or let’s get home and accomplish the daily to-do’s, ugh no! Not yet, not on a perfectly placed September day. I think of Rosalie, maybe this is a time for us to get to know each other one on one. For Rose, in the beginning there was not one but three. As soon as we came home after her birth, she was a bundle of three children. Is this her “one time”. Yes it is. Sometimes one time is a little lonely when you are used to running in a pack but sometimes one time is exactly what you need. How about a walk around our favorite park loop at a pace suitable for a new walker? A snack, all to your self Rosalie? Maybe a snuggle and story is what we’ll do. Me and you, you and I, a little one on one for my one and only, till 11:30 at least, when pick up number one brings the pack back.

Flower School

“Mommy, when you say ‘kindergarten’ it makes me think of flowers.” My little Genevieve says this to me during one of our many discussions about her beginning kindergarten this upcoming school year. The imagery of this is joyful. Kindergarten should be like flowers, a growing process, fun, pretty, a little wild. As a parent having this discussion about attending big kid school is a trip. It’s exciting to see my daughter daydream about her upcoming kindergarten adventures. During this last bit of summer everything about school is noted and analyzed by little G. Spotting a school bus on the road has personal meaning since she’ll be a “busser”. Errands have a new twist in anticipation of getting a glimpse of her new school from the car window, “Mom, there’s my school!” I’m thrilled. Truly. I will miss G. during the day. We are a little team, but it’s time, her time now, to grow a little more, peak out of the nest a bit. I’ll remind her the first day of school, when the nerves set in, how she thought kindergarten was like flowers. I’ll get her a flower patch for her backpack, she’ll smile and touch it softly. Big backpack in tow, she’ll be a little silly about it, then board the bus, wave, and head on into the kinder-garden.