This morning, I switch roles in the classroom. I make the change from teacher to mom. Last week gave me a tiny taste of it, but I know that as Baby Gray spends more time there, it will take more and more adjusting.
I always knew I wanted to be a teacher (not necessarily forever); I always knew I wanted to be a mother (I’ll keep that one ’til my dying day). As those roles crash into each other this morning, I find myself at one of the most meaningful crossroads I’ve been in since this whole motherhood gig started. It’s my turn to relinquish control, which is super hard for me–as both teacher and mother. It’s my turn to trust that God’s got this. My role as a classroom parent is a supporting role, to the school and his teacher. Already I’ve found myself reflecting on parents I had in the past that did an amazing job supporting me in my classroom. That’s the type of parent I want to be.
I feel confident we have placed him in a program that will challenge him and help mold him into the type of person we want him to be, but I am also so feeling the tiniest bit of relief that it’s only two days a week and I will still be able to spend time with him. He’s going to be totally fine–it’s me who will need to do the adjusting!
Teacher mode is often my first instinct: I pick up on people’s verbiage with children, their reactions and so on (that’s not at all to say that I always do it right, just that I catch myself thinking about it). I love reading and learning about new ways to interact and get a concept across. It’s all about that light bulb going off; the click you see when they get it! While I love that Baby Gray is going to continue to learn and grow, I’m a bit sad that it’s somewhere else–even if just for two days a week!
At the same time, it’s exciting. On Sundays, I love when he comes back from Rev Kids and tells me all about what he’s learned that day, we’ll get to do that even more. He loves to tell us about the new things he’s got swirling around in that head of his. We’ve already got the evening planned tonight so we can hear all about his day over yogurt!
He talked about school all day yesterday; I can’t wait to pick him up and hear all about it now that he’s actually been!