Bringing a Loved One to School – Part Two

Scroll down to read Part One first!

I spent the ‘Bring a Loved One to School Day’ morning writing my blog and cleaning my house and having a bit of a pity party (I may have overeaten a little in my despair). After all, as I was leaving school, I saw several boys in Ben’s grade walk in with their Moms or Dads. I tried to keep it in perspective with respect to where my son was in the areas of confidence and outlook. I tried so hard not to take it personally! And I kept seeing his concerned, sad face when he asked if I was okay and if we could make it a date for next year, as he ushered me out the school doors. Man, did this sting!!

About 10:30 my phone rang… My good friend called to see if I ended up going to school. Her daughter made it clear from the start that neither she nor her husband needed to go. They were handling it much better than I, but naturally, they were curious as to how the day was playing out. My friend suggested that we casually pop up to school at lunch time just to say hello and let our kids know we were thinking of them and then proceed to lunch ourselves. I tried to think of how Ben would react and decided he was probably wondering how my day was going with the rejection and all,  so I eagerly agreed to join her.

We arrived at school just as the 6^th graders were on their way to lunch. I headed into the office to say hello to my favorite office ladies and, in truth, to hide from Ben until he was safely seated at lunch. He glanced in the office, spotted me and ran in. I wasn’t sure from his expression if I saw big trouble or relief coming my way….

Ben ran in, gave me a big hug (in public!!) and whispered in my ear that he wished I had been there all morning. I love my kid…have I mentioned that enough? My friend’s daughter was very happy to see her Mom, as well, so we went into the cafeteria with our kids and hung out.

The end result? Ben asked me to stay for the afternoon and meant it. I was planning on being a hard guy about it just to drive the lesson home, but he knew as well as I, that there was nowhere else I’d rather be. I loved every minute of watching my son learn, absorb, relate to his incredible teachers and interact with his peers. I was on my best behavior and I’m pretty sure I did nothing to embarrass him. And as much as I wanted to play beach ball volleyball with him in P.E., I sat and watched and took it all in. Can’t believe I almost missed it!! (I will save my comments about many of the Moms and Dads sitting in their child’s classrooms TEXTING or posting on their Facebook page during their children’s class for another blog.)

And talk about a great friend… my dear friend, who decided not to stay for the afternoon, excused me from our lunch date and returned a couple hours later to ask about our days and drive us all home.

Warm Regards,

TCC