which happened to be a rainy one in December. It was finally raining again today - something that the entire state of CA needs. Not that it was raining much (or raining men for that matter....at least on our street!) but the foggy cloud that made it over Mt. Castro today managed to provide some mist and drizzle most of the morning. Something to be happy about in and of itself! It actually feels a little wintery and I miss the rain. John and I used to run out into the rain when it happened in SoCal and dance in it a bit, it happened so rarely and we both missed it so much!
When it rains here, Elizabeth's preschool asks the parents to pick up their kids 1/2 hour early. Since it was a bit of a question mark to me as to whether or not it qualified as a rain day, I decided to head over early just in case. As I stepped out the door and into a cloud, I heard a familiar sing-song chant darting through the damp air by the kids and parents, which normally occurs at precisely that time of day. "Wash your hands for lunch time!!" bellowed up from the Grattan playground where HACNS lives, which told me that it wasn't a rain day afterall - things were right on schedule. But, I walked over anyway.
When I walked in the door, I got to watch Elizabeth for a few minutes without my presence being realized, which is a rare treat. She was sitting nicely next to her teacher, the Director extraordinaire of her preschool, Cocoa, with about 6 other kids at her table all enjoying a meal together. The parents working that day were performing their lunchtime duties with ease (which I still need to learn how to do myself on my work days!). I watched her smiling and talking with her blonde braid bopping in unison with her hands, which she uses so often to emphasize her words. If only she knew how clearly she spoke (and always has) and how powerful her musical voice is by itself.
In what seemed like an instant, the spell was broken and I was spotted. But, that is always a wonderful thing, too, to be snapped back to reality by a little person yelling so happily across a room, "MOMMY!!! Yay! Come eat with me!!". So, I then got to spend a few minutes sitting on the floor next to Elizabeth, sharing a ham sandwich, and hearing about her morning. Only to be interrupted by Anna Maria and Anna Etsu on my left cajoling me that they can't tell me their secrets about Anna Maria's avocado and egg sandwich. And my trying to convince Haley that my face was blue - and then green. And then laughing while Sadie followed Elizabeth's lead and they both were turning their noses purple with Elizabeth's blackberries. And then making car honking noises when they all wanted to squeeze my nose (??). I could sense Elizabeth's relaxation with me being there and I soaked in the moment of shared silliness that I know only developing relationships with her classmates by working at the co-op provides.
I worried on my walk over that going early might make tomorrow tougher. I like to think telling Elizabeth when I leave in the morning that I will pick her up after lunch, and sticking to a routine, just like I do everyday, helps her with any sadness she shares with me when I drop her off and she asks me to stay. Granted, this new school is only for three hours, versus ten hours per day at her past schools, so it really is a drastic change from saying goodbye in the morning (and the guilt that ensued for me when I couldn't stay "just a little longer?") just a few months ago. I used to drive around to the front of her old building and we would yell goodbye to each other through the preschool window, holding up traffic on many occasions, to exchange one last "I love you!" or catch a kiss. We will find out tomorrow if my lunch visit is now expected as a part of the routine (?)...but it does put things in a little more perspective. Even just being able to ask that question is a nice reminder that I get to be a part of her lunch at least once a week and how fortunate I feel for our family being welcomed into this co-op preschool.
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