Crankiness and Confusion

Call me Mother of the Year.

It was a wickedly bad last week. Make no mistake, the omens were neon, but still. This is ridiculous.

Last Monday I had a conference with Peanut's preschool teachers. They called after his third day of preschool (I'm counting orientation) and said that they had some concerns about Peanut's behavior. Could we meet without him? Yes.

With a feeling of dread, I let Boomer know what was going on. After all, we had some concerns of our own. Potty training is nonexistent, which in my world means no more preschool. Boomer tried to calm me down. Didn't work.

Sure enough, when I came into his school on Monday, they were waiting for me. With a list. Not good.

To their credit, they wanted this as much as I did. Which is not at all. The professional in me heard "overwhelmed", " temper tantrums", regression of "toilet issues". The mommy heard that we were being given a full refund of Peanut's tuition. And all of a sudden, it hit me: my careful preparation was shot. They were asking my child to go home and not come back.

Wow. That hurt.

The teachers realized what a blow this was and gave me a few resources, all of which I'm using. Here at home, I realize that there were signs I was missing. Peanut is easily overwhelmed by choice and there were many more children than he was used to at one time. He has serious issues with transition. A different class would be in his best interest, and Boomer and I have come to understand that this is for the best.

It's no one's fault, but the thought that keeps me awake when my guys are asleep is that Peanut was expelled from preschool. After three days. And it's all my fault.

It isn't, actually. And when Boomer reads this, he will shoot me his now-patented, not-so-much look, and reassure me. I think now I'm finally ready to listen to him.

In the meantime, Peanut is trying to figure out when he can play with his preschool buddies and enjoy the wonders of new trains. I'm trying to find the words to tell him he can't yet.

All I can say is "Not today."

Call me Mother of the Year.