The "I Don't Wannas"

Whoo, that was a trip yesterday.

I've been considering signing Daniel up for a kids martial arts class for some time. Found one I thought I liked, and we moved a little bit slowly. Just went and watched a class one visit. The next time, we could try one out without paying so he participated in his street clothes. He said he wanted to do it, would wear the uniform, etc. so Tuesday was his first official class and the second one was Friday/yesterday. And he wigged out. Shrieking about how he didn't want to wear this (uniform), didn't want to go, please listen to me! At top volume. I gave him my best bland face, didn't get mad, but bundled him into the car anyway. Commotion the whole way there.

To be fair, I think a couple of things were going on. He napped late, and I pretty much had to wake him to go to class. Naps have been all over the board lately. They could happen at any time, and could be a) a two hour affair b) a 15 minute power nap or c) nothing at all. Makes it hard to plan some days. Being woken up, popped in your uniform and hustled to the car probably doesn't put you in a good frame of mind. He's also been a bit shy lately around strange men. Tuesday's class, while he did fine in it, also had two older (teenage) students (guys) who were helping and who towered over the little tykes. Everything went fine, but I started to wonder if he felt a little intimidated. The usual helper is a girl, and the instructor is also a woman.

A little bribery of an ice cream after class ensued. (He responded with: Ice cream first! - nice try, kid...) With a bit of sniffling, we got him into class and once there he hopped around and seemed to enjoy it.

Technically yes, coming to a class like this is optional. I guess I feel like we committed to this, and I want him to at least see it through the 8 week session and then decide if he wants to continue. There are going to be plenty of things coming up where he will have no choice but to continue - we start preschool in the fall, for example. How do you deal with the "I don't wannas?"

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Photo courtesy of: AP An Oscar Mayer Weinermobile crashed into a home in Mt. Pleasant WI yesterday...

Lost

Do you have a memory of being lost/separated from your parents when you were little? At the mall? An amusement park?

I can't think of too many. But I do remember getting on the school bus - I think it must have been first grade, and I was new to the whole bus thing. The ride was OK, school went OK... and then I walked out the front door at the end of the day to find an endless row of school buses. I can remember a sinking feeling and a sudden jolt of fear. I had no idea which one was mine. How would I ever get home?

Weather has been a bit nicer, and we had a beach day in York, Maine recently. Daniel loves to run to the water, and back. It's way too cold for much actual swimming to be going on... but there's lots of running and digging in the sand. At one point I watched as he ran to the water, spun - and started marching off down the beach in the opposite direction from where we were sitting. I heard some family members speculating that he was going to check out the sandcastle that this little girl was building. But something about his body language struck me and I thought: He doesn't see us. If you think about it, turn yourself around a couple times on a huge beach full of people and it could be pretty easy to lose track. I took off after him, finally yelling his name. He turned, and it's at that point I saw his face crumple as he started to cry. He was scared.

He seems to be over it now. But it's me who still gets a little squeeze of the heart every time I think about it. And I'm now wondering about how to have the discussions about what to do if you get lost, and stranger danger, and so on without freaking out the 3.5 year old (or Mommy) in the process.

Lickety Split

We've been enjoying a break, visiting my family in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Basking in family time with Daniel's Grandparents, and Uncle Andy and assorted aunts, uncles and cousins. Good food, beautiful area, loads of activities... fireworks, a Fourth of July parade, trips to the park and the beach. And bedtime seems to have gone by the wayside. Our return to a regular home routine may be interesting in the days to come. But it sure has been fun!
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I was fussing over something or other during my trip - can't even remember what it was at this point, just that something didn't look right. My Mother said that her quilt group in Elkhart Lake has what they call the Galloping Horse Rule. Can whatever you think is wrong - in their instance some bit of work on a current quilt - be seen from a galloping horse? If not, move along...

I think I like it. I may start adapting this to other areas of my life.