KINDERGARTEN ENDING
This week Nora's first year in school wraps up and she'll be moving onto first grade. She also just finished up a semester of dance class with a concert last weekend.
I looked back at my blog posts from her first day of kindergarten last fall and appreciate how far she has come with maturity, confidence and her speech. She has friends and connections with her peers in kindergarten. She tells me about things her friends say throughout the day, or questions the teachers asks her. She is really starting to put the world together. And at times she'll just shake her head to me and say, "its ok, mom. You really don't need to worry about that." I smile at this.
REFLECTIONS FROM NORA
Nora is starting to be thoughtful and reflectful in ways that surprise me. For instance, while driving by the animal shelter the other day, she asked me if we could go in and say Hi to the workers there and bring our dog Jake by. We got our dog Jake there 6 or so years ago and she wondered if Jake would like to see where he lived. I had to explain to her that the people there have seen hundreds of black labs come and go and they probably wouldn't remember Jake, but maybe we could go and I could show her the kennel where Jake lived.
Recently at a restaurant our waitress was pregnant. When she was away from our table Nora said, "Mom, you should tell her you're a doula!". Nora really understands what I do in my work and I adore the fact that my little kindergartener is thinking about birth and the fact that people have the options of having a doula at their birth!
(And a funny comment Nora made to me today-maybe not blog friendly, but oh well. Kids say the funniest things....Slightly PG13 rated....
This morning when I was getting dressed and Nora was hanging out on my bed, watching me.
Nora: I like your boobs. (Pause) And your boob covers. (Pause) Why do you wear boob covers?
Me: (Laughter then Pause) You mean a bra? Because.....
I told Patrick after and he and I had a good laugh at that one!!)
Kindergarten truly couldn't have gone better. Nora is beginning to read, likes school, as well as afterschool dance class. think a big part of Nora succeeding was waiting until she was 6. Lots of kids start kindergarten at age 5 and do wonderfully, but I'm so glad we waited a year for her. She was primed for learning by the time school started last fall. I"ll never regret waiting that one year for her to be ready.
During the winter Patrick and I had rough patches with Nora having a long bout of insomnia, a 6+week illness which left her exhausted and me wondering what we were doing wrong, as she was unhappy and tired. Fortunately about 3 months ago things shifted, and she has really found her groove. It gives me an appreciation for how kids go through shifts in their lives, just as adults do. Harder times and easier times.
Zoya
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