The Morning Shuffle

This morning, Alex said he wanted to go to the same school as Baby Nate. I am not sure if it is because Baby Nate’s temporary school has a train table in the lobby that Alex discovered yesterday, or because he wants to be near his brother. Probably both. I will be very glad when they can be in the same place, which will hopefully happen next month.

As it stands, the current routine takes a good half hour from the time I leave the house until I can even start on the way to work (and when I do, I am further from work than I would be if I left from home). It is also a trick to bring the boys to two separate places — it is easiest if Alex is dropped off first and picked up last, just because Nate is grab-n-go, whereas Alex wants to (and should) climb out of the seat himself and explore his surroundings a bit more.

This morning, I got a little help from one of the other moms. One of Alex’s best friends at his current school, Tom, was going in the same time we arrived, and Tom’s mom brought Alex into the class room and signed him in for me so that I could skip the step of taking Nate out of the car. That saved a good 3-4 minutes, easily.

We have eagerly watched a new day care center being built literally down the block from our house for the past several months. I made the mistake of once mentioning to Alex that “that is your new school!” and almost every time we drive by it now, he says “that’s my new school, right!?” and gets excited about it. It made me feel like an awful parent, since we weren’t (and still aren’t) 100% sure he will go there, or would even have a spot.

But yesterday, we got confirmation in the mail that the boys are signed up for it. Of course, it isn’t open yet, and we still have to visit it and make sure it is acceptable to us from a care and teaching stand point, but assuming it is (and it would be hard not to be better than Alex’s current situation, in many ways!) we will put both boys there very soon. I worry about the transition for Alex — even though I think it is best to move him out of his current school, he is very loving toward his teachers, and is very popular among his classmates, whom he adores right back. So the change will be tough, and I am not sure Alex realizes that a new school means he will be leaving his friends. Luckily, our next door neighbor will also likely be sending their son there, so Alex will have one built in friend.

Despite that challenge, though, I do believe that having them in the same place, and so close to home, will be easier for all involved!