Back to School

Tuesday morning I arrived at the YMCA about 15 minutes early for my 9am body rhythms class. Little did I know that this was the first day of school for the preschoolers attending the Y program. I sat down with a cup of coffee, and here's what I saw.

I watched perhaps 50 children between the age of 2 1/2 and 5 years old arriving at the Y with mom or dad, many for the very first time. As an outsider it was interesting to observe the behavior of both parent and child. In most cases, mom brought the child to school. The kids looked adorable, most in fresh fall outfits with a fancy lunch box in tow. The majority of kids were holding tight to mom's hand. Many carried a stuffed animal with them. Some brought pillows and blankets for nap time, and a few even had pacifiers in their mouths. Many children had to be coaxed into school. They were fine as they walked into the Y, but when they got to the double doors that took them outside and to their classroom, many began to cry. One little red headed boy, around 3 years of age, was hysterical. Mom picked him up and took him to his class. Others were reticent, but with a little coaxing made it to school on their own steam. One mother stooped down to talk to her child, and then they raced to the classroom. Another boy was crying uncontrolably and had to be picked up. He wrapped his legs around his mothers legs so she could not walk.

Some dads brought their child to school. Same story. Some went hesitatingly into class, others held tight to dads hand and had to be coaxed, others still had to picked up and carried into school.

It was interesting to watch, both as a former teacher, a mother and grandmother who will soon have grandchildren facing their first day at school. Some children were confident and ready to separate from their parent, others were scared to death. I smiled as I watched how the parent dealt with a child who did not want to be there. So many of them tried to reason with them. Others I'm sure tried to bribe them, promising them something at the end of the day. In the end, all the children got to school and all the parents left. Many moms walked back to their cars teary eyed, realizing that their children had successfully separated from them, many for the first time. For many they were feeling as most of us have, that even though we want our children to separate easily and adjust to school, we realized they don't need us as much as we thought they did.

In the blink of any eye these children will be in elementary school, then high school and before you know it they'll be off to college. It goes so fast, I hope they enjoy it because they're gone before you know it.