It was Kuki’s first day of school, so why was mom bawling like a baby?
Perhaps it was the fact that Kuki ran into her classroom without a backward glance and settled down on the floor to listen to a story. Mom hovered by the door, willing her three-year-old to look back so she could wave and blow her a kiss, but the child had forgotten about her mother’s existence - so engrossed was she in discovering her new surroundings.
Mom could hear wailing kids in other classrooms, and her lower lip quivered. She forced her leaded legs to walk toward the school gates, turning back ever so often to see if Kuki would run out and look for her.
Why, mom had even chosen her work clothes with care that morning - anticipating buckets of tears and snot as a weepy, heartbroken Kuki would be wrenched from her arms and dragged away kicking and screaming to her preschool classroom.
“Couldn’t you have picked some other day to go out of town?” she had remarked irritably, when she realized that dad wouldn’t be in town for Kuki’s first day of school. “I really wanted you to drop her off. Now, she’s going to cry and be clingy, and I’ll be late for work.”
As mom pulled out of the parking lot with a heavy heart, she glanced at the school gates one last time in the rearview mirror. Parents of all shapes, sizes and colors trailed in and out. Mom did not see Kuki, or any other child for that matter, dramatically dash toward the school gates, wailing for a familiar figure.
Mom drove slowly through the residential neighborhood. At the first Stop sign, she braked, and broke down.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Back to School
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6 comments:
All too familiar. :(
Awwwww.
Am sorry.
I dont' have kids, but I have a mom.
Now I guess I can imagine how she must feel when I dont' tell her about every moment of my day
Sujatha, I had a feeling you could identify. Thanks so much for the link.
Anon: Moms are weird. They expect the same of their husbands too.
Came for the first time here. Loved your style.
Aw! Poor you!
I cried too when my daughter went to school for the first time. She, on the other hand, was fine for the first week. After that, she realized that she had to go there every day and that was when she started clinging to our hands and bringing the place down. I think she was the only kid who cried from the second week onwards. My husband refused to go drop her because he said it was really embarassing when the teacher peeled her off his leg every morning!
How is Kuki settling down? Is she having a blast?
My my! So much drama while dropping a kid off to school. I don't know who Kuki is but she sounds like a tough cookie.
And mom, dont you worry! She still wuvs you terribly.
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