1 Mother 2 Another

I can’t believe I’m writing
this, but I think it’s time to start buying stuff for Maddie
for school in September. Is my baby really old enough to need
things for school? Ok, preschool, but still –


I’m having to control my dewy-eyed, “Sunrise,
Sunset” tendencies because Maddie’s already preparing
to bolt from the whole school idea. She and her friend Elise, who
will be in Maddie’s class with her, both have some sort of
innate ambivalence – perhaps even dislike – of school,
and are quietly scheming to get out of it somehow. God help us if
they ever hear about the whole homeschooling concept.


But I digress.

Since Maddie’s less than
enthusiastic about school, I’ve been trying to talk it up and
make it seem really cool, which is hard to do when Cora’s
around because if I make it sound too cool Cora starts wailing
because she’s not allowed to go. It’s a fine line, and
I don’t always walk it very well; I can’t tell Cora all
the cool things we’ll do at home while Maddie’s at
school because Maddie will begin crying at being left out, and I
can’t tell Maddie all the cool things she’ll do at
school because Cora gets trembly-lipped whenever we talk about
taking Maddie to school and LEAVING HER THERE. But I do the best I
can.


One part of Operation Yeah! School is playing up one of
Maddie’s favorite pastimes – shopping. We’ve been
shopping already for her first-day-of-school outfit, and
she’s got it packed away in her closet: pink shirt with
rhinestones and a guitar on the front, a pink, red, and purple
skirt, and pink footless tights. Oh, and new headband.
Maddie’s gotten out the outfit to show to relatives, and they
all ooh and ah over the outfit, Maddie glowing all the while, until
she puts the outfit back in the closet and says matter-of-factly,
“But I really don’t want to go to school.”


I’ll be turning my attention to lunch containers, backpacks,
and nap mats now, and try appealing to Maddie’s OCD and love
of organizing. Who wouldn’t want to shop for little
containers for neatly separating snacks from lunches?


Wish me luck.