Morning Goodbye

Upon bringing Nas home from the hospital I knew this baby was different from my first.  Jay didn't cry much, she didn't want to be swaddled tightly or snuggled close, the kid hardly ever slept because she was so busy taking it all in.  Nas on the other hand cried all...the...time.  He cried when he was hungry (which was every 30 minutes as he cluster fed), he cried when he wanted to be held close, he cried when he was sleepy, he cried because he was breathing, he cried when his eyes were open, the kid just cried! Having struggled with postpartum depression after having Jay, I thank God she was first as Nas would've surely been sold off to the first bidder.

Nas was just a very different baby from Jay.  When we first brought Jay home she slept for five hours straight.  Didn't sleep much in the day, but nights were bliss with that baby.  Nas was up every two hours to eat like clockwork.  I knew for sure then, I was done having babies.  If our two kids were this different already, what would a third be like? At the same time I loved the way Nas let me hold him close.  I also loved that he knew when I wasn't near, well, most of the time I loved it.  After all, if I wasn't nearby, he'd...you guessed it, he'd cry.  If Jay was the baby busy growing up, Nas was the baby busy relishing in his babyhood.

He's not a big ol' almost-six-year-old baby today, but his personality hasn't changed all that much.

Three days a week I deliver my little boy to his kindergarten line where we await the arrival of his teacher.  Upon her arrival Mrs. L. will typically talk to the kids and parents before she has the line of kids follow her to the classroom.  In the meantime, Nas and I talk or he chats with his classmates or I talk with other moms.  At some point before his day officially begins, I make sure to kiss him.  In turn he kisses me, only his kiss tends to be accompanied by this urgency that makes clear Nas is still not used to our morning goodbye.

My daughter is very much her father's child.  She's independent, mature, typically emotionally stable, and I can count on one hand the amount of times I've left her at school and she cried.  Nas is very much like me.  He's affectionate, mean when he's hungry or tired, and is still quite content as long as his Mom's around.  And, like me, Nas is a creature of habit - change does not come easily to him.  Recently Nas started what has become our goodbye ritual before I leave him for the school day.  At first I was surprised at his choice in ritualistic behaviors, but now I do it as it is pertinent that I help him start his day "right".

As Mrs. L. leads her class toward the kindergarten room Nas and I say goodbye - repeatedly.  We exchange "I love you's" and off he goes.  Only he turns around to wave...walks a few steps...turns around to wave...walks a few steps...gets close to the corner where the tall bushes stand and on his tip-toes he waves...walks maybe two steps...and waves to me his last goodbye for the morning and I do the same.  This adds an extra couple of minutes to the time it takes me to return home, but if I know that extra couple of minutes will help his day get off to a great start, I'll wave until his little heart's content. 

Do you think he'd let me wave goodbye to him until he's out of sight on his first day of school at college? I didn't think so.  So I'll relish the days he wants to keep me close and know, without a doubt, my son loves his Mommy. 

Fall Break

School is in full swing and, of course, just when it feels like everyone is in a good rhythm...we get a break.  This school year is different for us because the kids' school schedule changed from year-round to traditional.  So those nice, long 3-week breaks are a thing of the past.  One week this month, Fall Break, is when we get to squeeze in all-things fun.  Which, for our family, means we're taking a trip.

I'm the kind of girl who loves to travel.  It's likely my dad's fault because he was big on taking our family to see new things.  Traveling is also a nice way to get away from the day-to-day and return refreshed and appreciative of the life your family has built at home.  So, needless to say, when the kids get a long break from school we try to go see something.  Escape from our day-to-day.

Family trips are always decided by our family.  We present a couple of ideas and the kids help us zero in on where we'll spend time away.  Once that is figured out, we talk about activities our destination offers and again, present them with options and the kids decide what we'll do while we're away.  Now, I'm a tourist and I'm mamarazzi, so I always try to plan an outing or two that will provide some great pictures to add to our photo albums.  But generally speaking, the kids choose most of what we'll see and do.

This year is kind of up in the air.  We're winging it.  It's likely we won't know exactly where we're going until the weekend before.  This should be interesting.  Interesting because I'm a planner - I like to have an itinerary of sorts, for each day's events.  I like to plan, loosely, where and when we'll be going, and even when we'll be in the hotel room just hangin.  But because we have Nas' 6th birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Jay's 10th birthday all within about 4 months, I'm unwilling to plan a family trip that is too costly.  This winging it will work out nicely - find an open flight and hop on it. 

Traveling this way will test my travel planning skills for sure.  But as long as we get to see something the city's known for, relax, and laugh a LOT - it'll be well worth it.