Letting Go

I always knew this day would come. I couldn't possibly expect him to be a baby forever. I wanted to keep him nestled right next to me til the end of time, but alas it is time to let go. Jeremiah started kindergarten last Monday. Even though Jeremiah went to pre-school for two years, this still feels different. Kindergarten marks a moment in a childs' life that signifies they are truly a big kid.

I am partly excited for him and in a way I am ready to embrace this change. While I have enjoyed spending much of my days with him, it is nice to send him off to school on the school bus and have my days free. Although, I admitt I am bored out of my mind most of the day. I lay around in my pajamas watching reruns of Law & Order: SVU, surfing the web, and thinking about what me and Jeremiah can do once he makes it home.

But I am also nervous for him. Something about starting school gets those butterflies in my tummy all stirred up and makes my palms sweat. I wonder how he will adapt to his new school and his new teacher, and new classmates. Will he like it there? Will he make friends or become the next, new victim of the school bully? What is he doing all day? Is he learning? Are the teachers nice to him?

This is only the second week of school and he hasn't gotten any homework just yet. I have received a paper of lowercase and uppercase A's that he had cut out and glued onto a sheet of paper and a paper where he traced his name. Both of which I am proud of, have showed to anyone who will take a peek, and are now displayed on the fridge.

On Monday I got a call from the school nurse informing me that during recess Jeremiah bumped his face on the playground equipment and will be coming home with a bruise...sure enough today my baby has a shiner on his left eye/cheeck. Every time I look at it I think "my poor baby" and I give him kisses to soothe the pain away. Dan tells me he is boy and will have more shiners in his days. He says it will toughen him up, but to me Jeremiah is my baby...I don't want him to toughen up just yet.

Today I received a letter in Jeremiah's school folder that Jeremiah had alot of tears today. He didn't want to do his work, he didn't want to share, and he refused to eat his lunch. That broke my heart to hear that he is having such a difficult time. I wrote back that sharing is a battle we are working through at home as well (he's an only child and doesn't have many friends his age), I wrote that tomorrow we will see how Jeremiah does with a hot lunch at school instead of me packing his lunch for him, and if there was anything I could do at home to help him to please let me know. How else am I to respond?

Jeremiah is in a special, autism classroom. I thought that would make things easier on him, but so far he is not taking this well. He keeps asking me about his pre-school teacher from last year and every time I explain to him again that he is in a new grade this year and therefore he has a new school and a new teacher. I am not too worried though. Last year he was upset about having a new teacher, but within a couple months he loved her. I believe that with time and patience Jeremiah will grow to enjoy his new school, learn to love his new teacher, and make good friends with his classmates.

At least that is the hope I am floating on. I knew that letting go would be hard for me, but I never imagined that it would be just as hard, if not harder, on him too. This sucks. Why doesn't anyone warn you that letting go is another challenge all its own? Not just for parent, but for child.

I pray things slowly but surely get better. If you are reading this I ask that you pray for Jeremiah too. Pray that he learns to love his new school and teachers, may he not get beaten up by any bullies, and may he excel within due time.

Kindergarten is hard work.

Home Sweet Home

I have been home since the 14th of August and it is good to be home again. Of course I miss everyone back in Chicago, especially my little bro and my mom, but I have so many loved ones here and it is good to see them again. I told you I would write a long post about my vacation and indeed I am...

I arrived in Chicago on July 30th around 5:30 in the evening. I realized that the train wasn't too bad. It is much more roomier than the Greyhound, but still not quite as fast as an airplane. Jeremiah loved the train. He usually plays with his toy trains and God forbid we drive across choo choo train tracks, because he will beg that we do it again. So, actually being on a real train thrilled him beyond his wildest dreams.

We spent the entire first week of our stay with my mother and my little brother, Jonathan. My brother isn't too little anymore. He is 13 years old and basically a teenage boy. When I seen him I hardly recognized him. Within one year's time he had changed so much. He is getting a mustache and hair on his legs. I couldn't believe it. We went shopping, swimming, and there were a couple days we did nothing but watch tv and relax. It didn't matter to me though. Being there with them, talking and laughing was good enough for me.

The second week we were there we spent with my grandmother Katie. We went to my Aunt Karen's block party and Jeremiah had a blast. He spent an entire hour inside the bounce house with his uncle Jonathan. And after some coaxing and lots of praise he loved the water slide. He spent around three hours on that. All that playing worked up an appetite and we enjoyed gyros and cotton candy. We were also there to celebrate my grandmother Katie's 60th birthday and we seen the Smurfs movie.

All in all the vacation was everything I hoped it to be and more. I was filled with joy to be there with my family. My family is loud and crazy. They fight and don't always use the most appropriate language. Some of them lie, some of them have serious problems, and some of them are not the brightest crayons in the box. But I think we can all relate. All of us have crazy families.

And I love my wild and crazy family. I wouldn't change them for anything in the world. I have fun with them. I can tell them anything, we can laugh about everything, and even though we may not always see eye to eye we are there for one another. We have each other's backs...and that's what family is all about.

I am defenitely going back next summer for another two weeks, and if I am lucky I am going to try to see them for a week during Christmas vacation, but we will have to see. Until then I have all those precious moments, treasured memories...that I will hold close and dear to my heart.

*By the way...for the record I took tons of pictures while I was there...149 to be specific. But I didn't want to have a photo bomb going on here. So, I chose my favorites and shared them with you. I hope you enjoy my Chicago Vacation photo collages. Smile =)

Vacation!

Hey everyone! Well I have been in Chicago for just 3 days officially. I must say it is still a beautiful city and I am enjoying it to the fullest. I have been spending time with all my loved ones and loving every minute of it. Of course my family is still as crazy as ever, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

My brother and cousin have been fighting over me like I am some shiny new toy they found, everyone still talks loud and laughs even louder and harder. It has been a busy few days. Visiting with everyone and swimming and eating and laughing. So far this vacation is turning out to be the best and I am having the time of my life and so is Jeremiah.

Well I am pooped and ready to get some sleep. I wrote this on my phone so if I messed up...I am sorry. When I get back home stay tuned for a long vacation post filled with tons of pictures. Happy summer readers! Tata for now.