Me And My Preschooler

The sign of great parenting is not the child's behavior. The sign of truly great parenting is the parent's behavior.

How times flies. Summertime is gone and the beautiful Dutch autumn now starts. The temperature goes down and we are at once experiencing the cold months. I am counting the days and we are going to have again our simple wedding anniversary about two months from now. But I am setting that aside for my sweet story later on. We just arrived from school where my son is now a preschooler. In this ever changing world, the happiest days of mine as a mother of my preschool is something that I love to treasure forever.

Father and son on first day to  school.

Burt has turned two years old last August 29. I was in the Philippines that time and was staying in the hospital to give my family my moral support as our beloved father was in a bad condition. Burt's first day in school was September 2. My husband took the day off so he can bring our son in school. I cried when he shows me their photos together going into school. I know my son is in the best hands when I was away, but I am a kind of sentimental. How I wish I was with him on his  first day in school. When I was back home, I was excited to see how my son doing in school. Perhaps because I have been away from him for two weeks, he found no delight in school for a while. He was crying even just the sight of his school when I took him there. After two times of sending Burt to school with his cry-cry, he began to feel secure and confident again that I will not going to leave him very long, and when I leave him, he has learned that I will come back. Having a preschooler is an exciting life, both for the child and for the parents.

My son's teacher gave it to me, his art work.

Every time that I go to school, I feel the greatness to be called as a mother of my child. It is a title that no one can take or can replace. I am thankful for the joy of motherhood. When I get into the classroom, my childlike heart beats again. The ambiance, the smell of the children bringing me back on those days when I was a small girl who loves schooling. I watch how other mothers deal with their child in school. To deal well in "separation anxiety". One of the mothers put the crown to her daughter to stop her from crying. Another mother sniffing the butt of her son like a dog because her son poo. Many heartwarming scenes when you try to come to a preschooler room. I am glad that my son is adapting well. When he enters the classroom, what his eyes finding first is the tractor. When he already has it, then I leave and will return and  pick him up after nearly three hours.

Tuesdays afternoon with co-mommies.

I have posted sometime in my Facebook that I am an imperfect mother to my preschooler. There was the time that I took my son to school without his shoes. A time that I forgot to leave my son's coat, when I pick him up, he was wearing a used vest that his teacher lets him use for a while. Another time that I was going crazy finding his bag, his bag that I unintentionally left in school. I would say that I am an imperfect mother to my preschool, but with a pure and perfect love for him. My son makes me and his father proud of him by showing many potentials. He loves cars, he loves arts, he loves books, he loves to sing, he loves food, and he loves us.

Even just now, we see his potentials.

A boy with an easy smile to everyone. My journey of being a mother has just begun. Every Tuesday afternoon I meet with other mothers to talk about motherhood and the needs of our children. Here in the Netherlands, child care is almost everything guided in black and white. One of the staff at the child care center here in our town told me that sometimes she doesn't like it, sometimes she feels it is too much.

As for me, those child care advice and help are something to be appreciated, they came from well-meaning people by profession. But it is the parents who know well what is the best for their child because that is their child. Child care professionals gathered knowledge through book study and observation. But parents know their child by heart and blood and by their time of being together.

The love between me and my husband is like a cake, sweet. Now that we have our son, he is the icing on our cake.

I have the special role now to lead my son to enjoy his time in school and after school. My husband is a good provider and always busy at work, out of the town or out of the country. I am happy of his confidence to me in taking care of our son. As what I already wrote: having my own family I feel I already hit the moon and the stars... I feel completely happy. Before, it was only between me and my husband and our love is like a cake, sweet. Now that we have our son, our son is the icing on our cake.