Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Uh-Oh. I'm One Of Those Moms.

The first day of Kindergarten is over, and I managed to keep my tears to a minimum. There was just something about watching R & V file into a classroom and then having the door shut behind them that was utterly wrenching. It sounds ridiculous, but they now have their own lives; there are things that will happen in that classroom that I know nothing about. Luckily for me, though, R & V are big talkers. Vida, for example, shared the story of a run-in she had with The Girl Who Would Not Share. It went a little something like this:

Vida: There was a girl who wouldn't share the, you know, family dollhouse.

Me: Really?

Vida: Yes. And our teacher said we weren't allowed to say no if someone wanted to share. But she said, "No!"

Me: Well, that's not so good.

Vida: She shared it with her friend, but every time I asked to play she wouldn't let me.

Me: So what did you decide to do?

(what I really wanted to say): Well, I hope you kicked her butt clear across the classroom and made her cry.

Vida: I didn't want to get anyone in trouble, so I didn't tell our teacher.

Me: You know, I think that was a good choice.

(what I really wanted to say): You should have told! You should have told on the little troll! Horrible, spiteful child!

Vida (whispering): I just tried to remember the words of Mahatma Gandhi.

Me (suppressing laughter): Um, which ones?

Vida (still in whisper mode): Real love is loving someone who doesn't love you.

Me (lump rising in throat): Be right back, Vi!

At this point, I ran into my bedroom, closed the door, threw myself on the bed, and sobbed. And then I pulled myself together and began to plot several scenarios in which The Girl Who Would Not Share becomes The Girl Whose Ponytail Is Mysteriously Cut Off at The Base.

Not really, but you get the point.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Okay. You made me cry. I'm at work. I'll pretend I have allergies.

I think that little monster's pony tail will be cut off at the base. Or substitute her p'nut butter sandwich with liverwurst.

JD

Anonymous said...

Uh oh! I just had a horrid thought. Don't let V think that little girl doesn't love her. She would feel bad. Just tell her the little monster was not raised properly. She lives a different life.

JD

Tracey said...

OMG--quoting Ghandi in Kindergarten. Excuse me--I've got some Winston Churchill and Buddhist philosphy I must go over with Matthew.

Anonymous said...

I really like your blogg. Thanks for sharing.

Rebecca Mabanglo-Mayor said...

*hug*

When I grow up, I wanna be a writer mom like you, Ver. You raise your kids right and also write with humility and a sense of wonder!

(LLAD! Can spammers be more annoying than to invade personal blogs?? You got like 12 ads as comments!)

Bec

ver said...

Down with the spammers! I'm finally gonna turn on word verification, I swears.

So, fellow Moms, thanks for stopping by. But Tracey, no Churchill! —He once referred to Gandhi as "a monkey in a diaper." (Yikes)

Anonymous said...

ohmygod. I just knew this whole school thing was going to be too much drama for me to handle. aargh!!!!!

cornshake said...

not a mom, but omg, your girls just *slay* me. quoting ghandi??! too much, too much joy!

Carl said...

Wow...Ghandi! "Out of the mouthes of babes." Kinda funny that a Kindergaterner would give me somthing to reflect upon. I guess it's time to start reading Julian of Norwich to my 2 year old.

I see you got the word verification up and running. Those spam posts are quite obnoxious, aren't they?

ver said...

Vida is really into Gandhi. I have a children's book (this is a good series for kids; Risa is crazy about the Buddha one) that guides the little peeps through his whole life, but she sometimes requests that I read to her out of a copy I have of the Gandhi Reader. She particularly likes his description of his wedding ceremony. Go figure.

Rebecca Mabanglo-Mayor said...

Okee...feeling like a bug, here. Your daugter asks you to /read/ Gandhi to her? *facepalm* I'm a bug. The best I could do this summer was keep my soon to be third grader mainlined into Lemony Snicket. The girl would devour a book in 2 days. She'll be able to defend from all sorts of magical creatures, but won't be able to relate well to others! Sigh...

Imma gonna have to look into this word verification thing too. Nice feature!

ver said...

It really is just one of those bizarre happenstances. About a year-and-a-half ago she saw my book cover, which is a huge close-up of his face, and she was just drawn to it for some reason. She asked me to read to her from it, and I did, but then I thought I should get something more age-appropriate. Thus, the kids' book. But she still likes the original, too.

Anonymous said...

just got to school and kick the kids ass!!