Today is E’s 4th day of kindergarten. There’s this whole new morning routine that we’re all getting used to. Waking up early, rushing through breakfast, getting everyone dressed. Why does kindergarten start so early in the morning? Ugh. Anyway, for the past three days, we’ve all gotten out of the van and walked E to her classroom. Today, I decided I would drop her off in the drop off line because I had to get back home to straighten up the house because someone was coming over.
We kept talking about how when I drop her off, she will go to the cafeteria and find her teacher, Mrs. H.
On the way to school, I asked her, “So where do you go when I drop you off?”
She thinks for a moment, “uhh…I don’t remember…”
The cafeteria. You go to the cafeteria.
“Oh! Right!”
So I ask her, “And what’s your teacher’s name?”
“Uhhh….I don’t remember…”
By that time, I was getting anxious. What if she forgets again (after I just told her for the tenth time)? What if she doesn’t ask for help? What if she gets lost? In a desperate attempt to not let my anxiety control my life—I always freak out about things and imagine the worst case scenario—I quickly got a picture of her (just in case) as we stopped in the drop off line. Once I opened the door and there was a lady there to help her, I told her again (where the lady could hear me) where she goes and her teacher’s name. Hoping for the best, I took off and came back home.
There’s an app called ClassDojo that E’s teacher uses. It lets parents and teachers communicate easily and parents can keep track of how many positive and negative points their child gets each day. They get 2 points just for being there! So, I opened up the app, and saw E’s 2 points for attendance for today! She made it to the cafeteria! She made it safely to her teacher!
I’m so glad I thought to check the app so I don’t have to worry all day about whether she made it to the right place this morning. And she got there in time to be counted present.
2 points for me, 0 points for anxiety. This time…