Quick Change

I'm wondering if any of the teachers at my childrens' preschool would notice if I pulled a quick change on their role sheet, trading one Kamahi kid for another. I'm thinking it would lighten my load each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but then again, it would add to theirs.

This morning Isaac was adamant that he was taking a sabbatical from preschool. With a face that resembled a boy who'd just lost his best friend, he rounded the corner into my bathroom where I was getting ready, and sheepishly spoke the words, "Mom, will you please cancel preschool for me?" He looked in such despair, I almost picked up the phone and punched the numbers to reach his teacher.

If his two sisters weren't so elated about school each day, I might believe that he was being tortured every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. As my Protective Mother Instinct subsided, it hit me what the true issue was. For the past three weeks, he has been allowed a little more time each day to do what he loves best....vegging out in front of the television, watching cartoons. It hit him that he would now miss out on Transformers, or Arthur, or any other cartoon that caught his interest. He temporarily forgot how much fun he has each day at school, learning new things and playing with his friends.

And my Annie had three weeks to forget how quiet and boring it gets around the house when her three siblings are at school. It took less than 30 minutes upon returning from the drop-off for her to remember.

As she followed me around the house talking my ear off, I requested that she use the bathroom because we were going to be heading out to run some errands. Her response came in the form of questions and comments in rapid succession, "Are we going to get Bella and Angel? I miss MY Bella and Angel. I love MY Bella and Angel. When are they coming home?"

I hated to burst her bubble, but she still had another lonely, three hours with just me, until her Partners in Crime returned home. And it was then that I had the dream.

How wonderful would it be to send Annie to school and keep Isaac at home. It would be perfect because she wants to be at school, and he wants to be home. She could fine tune her never shut-up gift for gab with the kids at school, and Isaac could get even better at watching tv. I can only imagine how quiet it would be around here and how much I could get done. I wonder if the teachers would notice if I just switched one Kamahi for another?

To relieve some of the depression, knowing that it wasn't an achievable dream, I reminded myself that in just 7 short months, Annie will be old enough to start preschool, and the others will be in kindergarten. I'm pretty sure that I'll be lost in the quiet of my own home, not knowing what to do in the silence.

It may take me a minute week to get used to the solitude, but I'm sure I'll channel my loneliness to tasks that have been begging for my attention for the past four years.

I'm off to rip off a ring from my, "Count Down To All my Kids in School" strand....only 210 more rings to go!