We made it through preschool open house! Colin and I took this picture as Daddy was leaving for work and we were heading over to the school. The whole thing went surprisingly well and while I am still absolutely freaking out about it, I think I might live. :-) When we pulled into the parking lot, Colin announced "There is MY SCHOOL!" and actually sounded happy about it. We parked and headed inside with a sea of other people, which made my palms start to sweat. The first part of the morning was a brief assembly in the auditorium and it took Colin about 10 minutes of walking around in the very back with me assuring him that he would be fine before he would go sit with me in the crowd. Once we sat down, he immediately made friends with the two little girls sitting in front of and behind us. It was love at first sight because both girls responded to his knock knock jokes and agreed to play "I Spy". He was having so much fun that I heard absolutely nothing that was said in the assembly. Let's hope it was not important information. The assembly started and ended with a prayer, during which Colin yelled "Mommy! Am I bowing my head? LOOK AT ME! Am I doing it? Where is God? Is he here? AMEN!!!!". It was a beautiful thing. ;-)After the assembly, we headed to his classroom and met his new teachers, Ms. Gina and Ms. Kelli. They were both very nice and seemed excited. Colin loved the classroom and managed not to have any meltdowns while we were saying hello to all the kids and parents. It was a chaotic atmosphere, so I did not really have a chance to ask a lot of questions with the teachers. I found out when to show up and what to bring and Colin was well behaved. I briefly broached the subject of Colin's sensitivities with them and they both gave me the smiles and nods that you would expect from women used to dealing with mothers dropping off their kids for the first time. You could tell that they were basically dismissing my worries as nervous mom stuff, but I can't blame them at all. I am sure they get lots of speeches from worry wart mothers and they don't know me from Adam yet. They will have first hand knowledge of Colin soon enough and we can touch base again in a less chaotic environment than the open house. They did reaffirm that the best idea was to just drop Colin off and walk right out the door and that is exactly what I am going to do. Colin is going to flip out, but I know that me staying won't solve the problem one bit. They said that they never have to call parents back to get the child, but they certainly won't hesitate to do so if the need arises. That works for me! Like every mother on the planet, I will be absolutely devastated when I leave there with Colin screaming for me. I have already decided to take myself straight over for a coffee and pedicure immediately after I leave. I am hoping that giving myself a small treat will make me feel better and also keep me from parking my butt in the hallway and watching the whole day from the corner of the window! I wish I knew someone with a supply of Xanax...I think I might need one on Tuesday. ;-)
Colin warmed up to the school very quickly and I still believe in my heart that he is going to love this place. It is the most beautiful church and the whole school area is bright and cheerful. It seems like the perfect fit. I also found out while we were there that Colin can move into the twice weekly program. Originally they did not have room, so we went ahead with the one day plan. They made room for him and I am going to take them up on the offer, at least to start off. I think going every Tuesday and Thursday in the beginning will help him acclimate and warm up to the idea much faster than going on Mondays alone. There is just too much time between the once a week class and I know it will take him ages to get used to that. I plan to take him on Tuesday and Thursday instead, at least for the first month. At that point, we will re-evaluate and see what we think. So here is to Labor Day Weekend...our last one before Colin is an official preschooler! :-)
