Becoming that which I mock
My plans for the day? A playdate for Sabrina. Lunch with a friend and her kids. Then I am going to sign Sabrina up for a dance class (“Creative Movement”). Before my momma days, this is the kind of day I would have mockingly said was in my future as a stay at home mom. But I would have been kidding. I wouldn’t have guessed that I would really become That Mom.
Formerly mock-worthy the first? A play date. I set it up. I set it up as much for me as for Sabrina. I like days when I actually get to interact with other grownups who don’t just reside in my computer or operate a cash register at Target. I knew play dates were in my future but I didn’t guess that I would enjoy some of them too. (I find group play dates kind of suck.)
Mock-worthy the second? Lunching. I’m a lady who lunches. Sort of – if you can call going to a burrito version of Subway with 2 adults and 4 children “lunching”. Lunch used to be walking downtown in my grownup clothes and heels to grab something between meetings. Now it is marked on my calendar a week in advance and anticipated. Naps are planned around it. Outfits (for the children) are thought out.
Mock-worthy the third: Dance class. This all started yesterday with a friend’s status update. I was thinking about signing Sabrina up for a Mom’s Day Out program – which in my understanding was 1 morning a week for a couple of hours. Around here, they are a couple of mornings a week and more pre-school-ish than anything else. They also have waiting lists if you don’t sign up in January for the fall. Who knew? So that is out this year and I’m okay with that. I just wanted her to get a little weekly socialization – I’m not ready to send her off to a school setting yet. She’s my baby. Anywho, I saw this status update about dance class for my friend’s daughter is is exactly Sabrina’s age. I joked that I thought that toddlers taking dance class was something that only happened on TV (likening it to my desire to attend boarding school when Facts of Life was popular). Apparently not – most of the girls around here take “Creative Movement” when they are turn 3. I’m not one to do what everyone else does (in fact, I usually work hard to do the opposite) but Sabrina probably needs to interact with people who aren’t her parents.
I never took any lessons for dance or baton or gymnastics or soccer or anything else when I was a kid. Steve and I discussed it before we had kids and agreed we wanted our children to have the opportunity to try things – to find their bliss – but that we weren’t going to be the parents that had our kids in all sorts of lessons and activities so that they needed a date book to keep it all straight. One thing/activity at a time – this momma doesn’t want to run a taxi service. So I guess this is the beginning of that. Sabrina is ridiculously excited at the prospect of taking “ballet” class. And momma is feeling like she missed the page of the toddler handbook that told me when I am supposed to start thinking of these things. I feel a little dazed that it is already time to think of things like lessons and pre-school. In my head, she just came home yesterday – she is just a baby. My baby. I’m not ready to share her with the world yet.
That last picture is so pretty! She is gorgeous.
This post is great. I wouldn’t have mocked these things before I had kids. I would never have taken the time to give them enough thought to be able to mock them!
Oh, I am so with you!! My girls started the pre-school-ish programs here at 2. Reese is 3 and I am still teetering……But, they did do ballet at 3 and LOVED it. She will have so much fun. AND, there are usually other moms to talk to as well. A bonus for you.
I struggle with playgroups as well. Never been a big fan. One on one is much easier for me, and yes I look forward to them as well. I have not been as good about them with Reese as I was with the girls. But, I am working on it.
You didn’t miss the page in the book. We learn from others–or at least I do!!! Have fun on your date
It killed me to have to wait for 2 years so I could sign Oleg up for Hockey. Although I did register him for preschool 5 month after we got home. He didn’t start until he was home for a year. We had to do the social activities because he needed to learn how to interact with children properly. The first two years of his life consisted a lot of baby smackdowns.
The activity thing can get crazy. I felt the same way you do, but I made the mistake of not starting my oldest (9) in activities early enough – so she was behind the 8 ball in soccer, dance, gymnastics – everything. I started her in gymnastics at 5.5 – when she started kindergarten. The other girls were so far ahead that she ended up quitting after 2 years b/c she never caught up with her age group (she had no desire to step down with the younger girls – social suicide apparently! lol!)
And the boys – boys are different. They pretty much have to start at the youngest possible age for soccer or forget it. And same with baseball. Again, waited until my son was 7 to do baseball. He was the worst on the team and now refuses to play this year because he is embarrassed. So it’s a balancing act – not wanting them to start too young, but not wanting them to be the worst when they do start (which happened with my kids).
And I cannot believe you are turning into such a Stepford Wife, sistah! Lunching, playdates! If you post next that you are joining the Junior League I will stop reading your blog! lol! 😉
It all goes so fast! Because the other 2 came to me as older kids, the idea of them in school is not quite so disturbing to me. But it seems nuts that E will be in preschool next week. She is so excited! and totally ready, but she’s still a baby!
Love the post today!!! We are so getting paid back for mocking people!! Hope she loves the class and that you have fun on your play date!!
Oh and if you find that toddler handbook please send it my way!
i totally agree with you when you say “i am not ready to share her with the world yet”. that is exactly how i have felt all week taking kaenen to pre k. i just cant wrap my head around the fact that i am the mother of a school age kiddo!!!!!
WORD
I am in the extreme minority of moms who do not send their kid(s) to pre-school.
But that’s a subject for my own blog/FB page. One that I can’t write about for fear of alienating every SAHM/FB friend I have 😉
Aww, I bet Sabrina will love the dance class, and wait till you see how stinkin’ cute she will look in her little leotard and ballet shoes!! 🙂 Hannah adores her class and loves to “practice” all over the house…it’s so funny! But now she’s hearing about stuff that other kids in pre-school do, so she’s recently announced to me she wants to play soccer and take gymnastics and learn how to golf. Um, excuse me child, you are not quite FOUR! Yeah, we are going to be limiting the activities here too… easier on my sanity AND the budget!
I’m actually trying to locate some kind of dance class here that isn’t a serious school that seems to have high expectations. Um, my girl is a bit wild and not so good at following directions. Creative Movement sounds great! I need to find that here!
Well you didn’t miss too much because I find most activities start at age 3 anyway. And what Steph said that they all start early is so right. If you miss the “normal” start age for the sports stuff, it is hard to catch up. Most of the team stuff here starts at kindergarten age though. Don’t know about down there.
And Alleen…look for a local rec center. Their programs tend to be for a short period of time…like four weeks…so if it goes badly you aren’t locked in for a long time. And they aren’t so serious.
LOVE LOVE LOVE this post! I can so relate! You are the cutest Michelle –if you lived closer we would just have to schedule a “LUNCHING!” 🙂
Oh gosh, how I can sooo relate and then the girls started part time preschool in March and now my almost five year old will start preschool full time in two weeks and I’m still crying over that. They are going to do the “ballet/tap” classes weekly (only because they are coming to the preschool to teach them)!!!! I’m excited for them but mostly for our youngest as she is all about music~~~ I’m just missing the hell out of them being in preschool at all ðŸ™
My girls both get to take 1 dance class at TDAC here. The 3 year old is so excited about Creative Movement she starts asking if it’s time to go days beforehand. #1 did one year of 2 day a week preschool before she started Kgarden, and #2 goes 2x a week to a sitter out of necessity because I work from home.
And I also had lunch with a friend today :). I don’t know if I ever mocked the likelihood of me turning into “this mom” because I didn’t think much about being a mom until it happened.
The only thing I cringe about is how I used to view parents whose kids acted up in public. I wondered why they “let” the kids do that and why they bothered to GO anywhere if the kids wouldn’t behave. Now I cringe FOR those parents and pray I make it through public appearances without similar kiddie outbursts!