Preschool Moment

Sometimes, with my cold, dark heart, I forget that there are people in this world that are so inherently good it makes you want to spontaneously hug them. I had one of those moments on the night of my first open house at Exhibit C's preschool a couple years back.

As you may recall, Exhibit C is a medical enigma and the decision to send him to preschool, how he should be placed, which school was right and what modifications would need to be made, all weighed heavily on me. I decided on a highly accredited school with an outstanding reputation that also had a transitional kindergarten option. During the application and interview process, I talked with the appropriate staff members to fill them in on him and I felt good about the decision, even though it did feel a bit formal to me for a preschool, perhaps a bit less warm and fuzzy than that which the older Exhibits attended. As parents, we sometimes do a fine job of second guessing ourselves in these situations, don't we? After registering him, I was excelling at that, and soon found myself sitting at the back to school open house wondering what the hell I was thinking and how on earth I could consider sending my medically fragile child into the big bad world at the tender age of 3.

I liked the teachers and everything they had to say during the meeting but I still couldn't shake the uneasy feeling I had. I wondered if I ought to wait a year but then weighed that against how socially and cognitively ready he was for school. Walking down the hall on my way to the parking lot after the meeting, I ran into the preschool director. I stopped and smiled and somehow she must have read right through that, for she looked at me, smiled right back, then held onto my arms and said, "Cranky Princess, there are no problems that can't be solved here."

I hugged her and thanked her then continued down the hall, tears in my eyes, knowing the decision was good and right.

Exhibit C will attend kindergarten there this year. Since that hallyway moment, I've never once questioned the decision to send him to that school at that time. He has thrived. The director is still there and I *heart* her even more than sparkly tiaras and pedicures.