Over the last 5 years that K has been in school (2 year preschool, kindergarten, first grade and now second grade is ending) I have slowly weened her off the pack animal that is mama.  When she was in preschool all I could think was “Seriously, she’s old enough to be in school yet she insists on being pushed in a stroller… sigh”

And it progressed from that point until this year when I was all about the not lifting a single finger to help her with her stuff.  Unless you count me holding her backpack and the backpacks of her closest playground girlfriends in the morning before we go inside.  But I don’t count that.  It doesn’t count okay.

Fine.  Do you want me to tell you why it doesn’t count?

It doesn’t count because if I don’t hold the backpacks they throw them on the ground where dogs walk around and over them, and kids bounce balls at them and trip over them and kick them for sport.  Plus, and I don’t know if you know this or not, the ground is kind of dirty.  So I hold the backpacks.

BUT I do not carry them into the building for them.  They all have to do that for themselves.

I got away from myself.  The point was that she also has to put all her stuff in her locker.  I won’t help.  I won’t be a party to it.  I stand and lean against the wall and watch as she tries to balance her folder and lunch box and jacket and whatever else it is she has there.  Sometimes a library book.  Sometimes something that could possibly be a nuclear weapon or something that I really shouldn’t let her drop because the entire world might very well go BOOM!

But I resist the urge to help her.  I stand with my back against the wall and let her hang her coat and shove in her backpack before nearly slamming the locker on her locker mates head because he was trying to sneak in there when she wasn’t looking.

And we’ve done well with this.  And that’s important because next year I don’t even think I’ll be allowed to walk her to her class.

But all this hard work.  All this progress we’ve made.  May possibly have been undone by the fact that her teacher asked me to take the board from her presentation home today.  This morning.  While it wasn’t raining. And she was in class.

Tomorrow morning I’m fairly certain I’ll be pushing her to school in a stroller… if I can find one.