Learning Curve.

Week 2 of being a part-time working girl and I'm exhausted. Waverly's exhausted. I think Chandler probably is too. And we're busier than before; something-every-night kind of busy. But it's good because 1. Work schedules allow us to do stuff in the evenings and 2. We're doing it as a family (most of the time). It's definitely a change for all of us though.

Waverly goes to Mom's Day Out two days a week from 9-2. Her teacher told me today that she was pushing other kids. Pushing??? MY precious, sweet, docile angel was pushing?!? She must've been talking about someone else's kid because my princess hits when she doesn't get her way. For the most part, Chandler and I have stopped her from hitting people, but she still continues to hit things or herself. So, anyway, my child was pushing. I don't make excuses for her; however, I know she doesn't know how to say, "May I please have that toy now?", so pushing is her way of.. well, getting her way, I guess. I just have to trust that her teachers are showing her, in the moment, how to respectfully "get her way". We'll work on it here too.

It's a lot of pressure putting your kid in daycare of any kind. Or maybe it's just me. I don't want my child to be the bad kid or the kid whose Mom never packs her a healthy snack and lunch or the kid whose socks don't match or the kid who doesn't have a bow in her hair (even if the bow only lasts half the day). The teacher has already commented that Waverly is intelligent and somehow, she totally is, and she's generally well-behaved and listens...most of the time, but this is the first time in 19 months that she has been in a daycare/school-type setting with other kids and without Momma around, not including Sunday morning nursery. I know she will learn things from the other kids in her class and let me tell you, I am not looking forward to the day she comes home having learned a negative behavior. I also don't want her to be the kid TEACHING the negative behavior. But I know Waverly is a sponge. She mimics everything, even when you don't think she is listening. Out of the blue, one morning she got in my bathroom drawer, took out my contact case and used her first finger to "put her contacts in". I didn't know she had ever seen me do that before, but she did at some point. She's an observer, that one. So I guarantee she is observing the other kids. I just hope she picks up on good things too.

I have to keep telling myself that there will be a learning curve. This is a big change for all of us and we're all having to adjust to our new schedules and lifestyle, not to mention less Momma-Waverly time. We've definitely experienced some separation anxiety. No, not me, necessarily. Ha ha. She cries when I drop her off at school and she cries when I drop her off for Sunday morning worship and Sunday evening worship. She's always been pretty good about just walking into class, but just recently she's been away from me more than ever. The good news is once I'm out of sight, she is fine and when I pick her up she's super pumped to see me. That part is good.

I hope things start to get easier in the next week or so. This is a good season of life for all three of us. It just takes some adjusting.