And As School Begins.....

So now that my daughter has started school I can safely say that my School Days are back as well..

Its another thing that I still cant seem to figure out where the past 3 years went flying, I still feel like my little Navya was just born yesterday, and I dont even need to close my eyes to see those moments, each single one of them, that happened since she first came out with one eye closed one open and looked at me and wiggled. How can she now be going to school on her own in a school bus ?? :O

Every school day is an adventure and a revelation. And a new window seems to open each day when she comes back from school and jumps in my arms from the school bus, always giving me a huge smile to see me waiting for her, a smile that tells me she is still glad to see me, that there is still time before she will hate me waiting for her like this, coz it will be so un-cool to be seen by your friends with your mommy around, and ever afternoon as I ask her without fail what she did in school, she replies with a naughty grin 'nothing', only to begin play-acting later in the day when all that she did in class comes out in her playing. How I love those moments.

My little monkey is out there and she is facing them on her own. So it is only natural that some days she comes home with a scratch, sometimes she will come home with a torn I-card, or a missing pencil, almost every day with a star on her hand for good behaviour or good studies (Im happy), and recently she came home with a bite mark.... That is when I called the school and the story tumbled out.... and the parts that my not-yet-three-year-old had so conveniently chosen to not mention...

Her school best friend had been sick for the last 3 days and she had to sit alone in the school bus and in class too. She didnt like her new neighbour, she was missing her regular best friend too much. So she tried to gain attention from the new neighbour, and when that was not reciprocated, she tried to pull her which turned into a push, the girl fell, slaps and more push were exchanged, and finally the other girl bit my baby. The teacher had intervened through the day and all this happened over a long period the whole day, including many warnings. After the bite, my baby was taken to the medicine room, where she was given an ice pack and medicine. The two were then promptly marched to the principal’s office where my daughter sat casually in the chair and explained in detail what had happened. She told the principal that the other girl was not talking to her despite repeated request and in the end she had pushed her.

Of course I got to know all this when I called. The supervisor told me they were going to call us too.

Not that it’s a stray incident or an uncommon one. I am sure those who have elder kids have already experienced the same. And those who have younger kids, be prepared……you too will see this one day.

I didn’t scold her. I didn’t threaten her or punish her. I loved her a lot to care for her wound, which was just a mark and no cut, and I told her why the girl had bit her. I told her it is wrong to bite, that she should never bite. And I also told her it is wrong to push, or to slap or fight. That when you don’t like something you can ask the teacher to help about it. She knows it is bad to fight and only naughty babies fight. It is completely another thing that she forgets all that when she is really angry or pushed to the limit of her little tiny patience.

Earlier maybe I would have scolded her for fighting, but I know better than that now. I know that will only make her hide things from me, shy away from sharing everything without the fear of being judged. Right now, my little one knows she can come and tell everything to mamma. That I will not scold her always, but I will talk to her and explain things to her. Of course I scold her when things so demand. And she eventually did tell me everything that she had done that day in school, she talked to me as I was putting her to bed, as the room was bathed in a soft red glow and as I put my head close to hers on her pillow and listened to her under the comforter….she told me everything….and that is what I had waited for the whole day…..

So, from now on, as I begin school all over again and start my rounds of class teachers, supervisors and principal, I hope I can be as much a part of my little one’s life as I want to be. And I hope she keeps confiding in me like she is doing now……