Progress?

Well, we just finished our first full week in our new routine. I go to work, Jack goes to preschool, and Stuart does a great job of filling in all the gaps in our new schedule.

The good news is, Jack does NOT cry in the morning. He is also very happy when we pick him up at the end of the day. The bad news is that, apparently, he has either a minor or major meltdown mid-day...almost everyday. His teacher doesn't think it is about missing mommy and daddy as much as it just becomes too much for him. He has a hard time keeping his hands to himself and following along in the activities. So, he and I have been practicing at home. We practice verbalizing his frustration as opposed to crying. We talk about things like, saying, "I'm so frustrated," instead of crying, or putting his head down on his hands at the table when he doesn't feel like coloring. I am optimistic, but don't think we are going to see any overnight changes.

We also struggle with the fact that Jack cries when he wakes up and finds me gone. I'm not too worried since this won't be a normal thing. I have just been going in early to beat rush hour and to allow myself time to pick him up from school in the afternoons. Normally, I will work from home when I'm not travelling. (So, I guess those trips will be a challenge for poor Stuart.) I do try to tell Jack the night before when this will happen so he isn't blind-sided, and that helps a little bit.

Thursday morning, I had my first attempt at working from home. Jack was adamant that he couldn't go to school because he had the flu. He pointed out that he didn't want to get the other kids sick, so he should stay home. I told him to rest on the couch to see if he got better. He said he wasn't going to get better. I realized this might not end well, so I got dressed and kissed Jack good-bye. Stuart then distracted him while I went into our office and closed and locked the door. He never knew I was there when he left for school. (Stuart convinced him a vitamin would get rid of the flu...good thinking daddy!) Of course, that night Jack told me he had the flu again and could I please tell daddy not to take him to preschool? (I don't know why he thinks I am his best bet on this issue.) I told him to get some sleep and if he had the flu we definitely would not send him to school, but that I thought he would be better by morning. He said he didn't think he would be better, that he thought he would have the flu forever.

Stuart bribed, uh, I mean provided Jack with an incentive at the beginning of the week. He promised if he didn't cry and was good at preschool all week he could get the Lego alien space ship he wanted. So, we celebrated the end of the week, with a new gift for Jack. Of course, he changed his mind on what he wanted and we took a trip to Toys R Us where he picked out a new Star Wars spaceship and a Luke Skywalker action figure. He was thrilled. Once he found them, he didn't want to look around the store any longer...he wanted to pay for it and leave right away.

My favorite thing is that EVERY day when I pick him up from school, he squeals, "MOMMY!" and runs to me with his arms open wide for a hug. He then tells me, "You're my best best friend." In fact, one of the other mom's stopped me in the parking lot one afternoon to tell me that her son told her that Jack's best friend is his mom. It's not the same as getting to stay home with him every day, but it certainly makes me feel a heck of a lot better.