Seven is not very many years to be alive, I will have you know. Seven is still little. Still a kid. There is no need for all this teenage behavior.
Brother won't let me walk him to the door of the day care anymore. Last week it started with him telling me, "Mom, don't kiss me" when we were in front of the plate glass doors. His friends could see. I haven't gotten a hug when parting since. Now, today, he wouldn't even let me get out of the car. "You stay here in the car with Jelly Bean, Mom." And I sat in my driver's seat with my seat belt off and door open, one foot out of the car to walk him the whole 10 feet to the door. You know, because I am one of the "good moms." The kind who don't dump their kid at the door and screech off into the parking lot. (Ok, so there aren't any of those. But still.) And so he strutted those 10 feet alone, like he was grown already. And my heart shattered on the concrete.
I half hoped the director would come out and yell about how I had to walk him to the door. But I knew that wasn't going to happen. I really wanted to fling open the door and yell at Brother's little blond posse that by exerting this peer pressure to separate from me, the only person they were hurting was me. And to stop being pint-sized jerks, please. Because I wanted my baby back.
Of course, I didn't. I just wanted to. Besides. My girl Friday said, when I relayed this desire to her, "Since when would kids care about hurting someone else's mother?" She's right, you know.
As I was driving away, Jelly Bean was waving and calling, "Bye My! Bye My!" to his brother and I had just the saddest thought about how, every morning, our family gets ripped apart. Honey goes to work, I drop Brother off at one center and Jelly at another, and then I go to work. None of us are together. *Big Fat SIGH*
So tell me, is this the time for this? Has it begun already? I need some comfort in the form of "all kids do this" and "yeah, mine does this, too." Unless it is not true and my kid is some kind of freak that I can give medicine to and he will be all better. Yeah? Maybe?
4 comments:
Aw, I know that must be sad. I will cry when it happens to me - and I know it will.
Just think, he's confident and independant enough that he can do that. YOU (and hubby) did that. good job.
Misty, it is TOTALLY the time that it always happens. With my DD, it was during grade one (she was 6, going on 7). In Kindergarten it was MANDATORY for me to kiss and hug her goodbye, then I got some push-back in grade 1 and by the time she was in grade 2 (last year) I could only wave goodbye, and in fact she started walking to school on her own, too.
It's great and fun to help them grow up, but that also means growing away and that's hard. But it is necessary and good.
Your little guy is totally normal!
It is hard I know. My D has been asking about going places on his own. He wants to walk to friends houses and go to the park. I am old enough now mom, I can do it. And i know he can, but I have a hard time letting go. He is just turning 7 this week. Slow down kid. My heart can't take it.
With K, who is almost 7, I've found kind of a push-pull pattern to it all. Sometimes she wants more independence, and sometimes she needs more hugs/time together, etc.
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