Milestones

Skip Hop Backpack

That day has finally come! I have mixed emotions about it, ranging from sheer joy to nervous apprehension. I completed my son’s application for preschool and he’s officially enrolled to begin in September. Oh how the years fly by…he’ll be three by the end of the month. What a journey it has been!

And what an application process—endless pages upon pages of personal questions, on double-sided paper, no less!

Seriously? C’mon, it’s preschool, not Harvard!

I have never had a fondness for filling out applications to begin with, so the process was a little daunting. Part of my apprehension came from the fact that it had to be completed in handwriting, which ultimately meant it ended up looking like it was completed by a five-year-old.

Throw in the added element of having to reveal personal information to a complete stranger, and I was at a loss for words—ironic, I know. It’s not that I have a problem sharing personal information (ahem, hence the blog) it’s just that I don’t perform as well on-command.

Truthfully, it wasn’t so much the nature of the questions that made me uncomfortable, as it was the nature of the potential answers...hmm, how honest is too honest?

While the questions seemed innocent enough, the potential for embarrassment was as infinite as the vastness of the universe...

Here’s a sample of the questions and my initial thoughts, followed by my revised responses:

    1.   What are your child’s interests?
     The first thought that came to mind:
   Farting, burping, mooning, and anything else that will get a laugh.
     What I actually wrote:
   Enjoys playing with cars and building with blocks.

     2.   Is your child potty-trained?
      What I thought:
    Yes…but he does need some supervision, as his aim is terrible. Every once in a while, he may have a mishap, as he becomes completely engrossed in his play, and forgets to go. Lastly, if he needs to do #2, bring a paper…like the New York Times…or a novel…it might be a while.
     What I wrote:
    Yes.

     3.    Is there anything you would like to share about your child’s behavior that would be helpful to us?
      My immediate thought:
     Don’t make him angry. You won’t like him when he’s angry.
      I wrote:
     He has a difficult time coping with transitions, and becomes emotionally distressed when presented with change.

I know...I was pretty impressed with my answers too! In the end, I think I did a fairly decent job of suppressing my innate sarcasm and delicately treaded through that fine line between being truthful and sharing too much in information like the best of them.

To be completely honest, I know in my heart that the hardest part about completing that application was accepting the fact I’m just one milestone closer to letting go and letting him become that wonderful man I know he will someday be. At least I have until September to get him prepared for school…it looks like we have some minor work to do in the area of potty-training and social skills, like anger management.