Today I am grateful for:
1. Two boys who will be at school all day...at the same time!
2. A quiet and clean house.
3. Three words: I. Love. You.
In my haste to celebrate my children's milestone start in kindergarten — not to mention my looming, as-yet-formless free hours — I underestimated the power of the teeming germ pool at school. Within 2.5 days, Sam was felled by a virus that looked like strep and stayed home with me in a cocoon of blankets the rest of the week. Poor guy was flush with fever and required my constant presence. John was fine until the weekend when they traded... Sam returned to school this week while John stayed home, a bundle of energy reduced to a sad and serious boy.
Today they are well. (I will not take this for granted, I will not take this for granted, I will not take this for granted.)
So we're off to a bumpy start to kindergarten, but initial reports from the home office indicate a drama-free transition at both schools. Sam has already made three "great friends" and his teacher says he is working so hard, remembering to raise his hand instead of blurting out the answers. I guess a good sign is that on Friday he was crushed when I told him he still needed to stay home. "But I WANT to GO to KINDERGARTEN!" he said. (Yep, me too buddy)
John's teacher reports he has fallen happily into the new routine. They say they are PLEASED with his VERBAL REQUESTING, which, hmmm...makes me suspect that changes in routine can only be good for eliciting those. So yay!
Although the house isn't clean yet, I predict it will be at the end of the day, so you could say I'm practicing advance gratitude. The quiet, on the other hand, is a mere hour or so away!
And yes, I am also grateful for three words. Three words I have said every day to both my boys. I. Love. You. Today I heard them sung back to me in concert as John used it to request my continued showering of kisses over his cheeks. I. Love. YOU! (insert yummy gobble-gobble kissing of cheeks and laughter). Repeat.
