Galloping Cats

Today was Gatito’s first day at his new school, and also my first day taking care of both kids on my own, as Tata is on vacation. I have to say that everything went great!

Last night, Gatito had said he was nervous about going to school. A told him that Cow would be allowed to come, and he immediately brightened and said, “If Cow can come, I’m not going to be nervous.” This morning, though, he was anxious again, claiming a stomach ache. Poor thing. But A took him there and was able to leave without incident. (Side note: Someone at that school drives a Bentley! We are so the poorest people at that place. We should’ve applied for financial aid.) When I picked him up, I was able to observe him happily playing on the playground. It was hard not to remember picking him up from the first day of his old school, when I found him sitting by himself on a bench on the playground. Cow was there, sitting on another play structure. He had obviously felt comfortable putting him down. As we were walking out, he told me, “I actually had a lot of fun.”

I took him for lunch and ice cream to celebrate, eating one-handed while holding the baby and having a lengthy discussion about how useful it would be to have an extra hand or thirty-six. Both kids fell asleep in the car home. Unfortunately, Ella woke up first and her crying woke Gatito, who really could have used a longer nap. (Side note: she mostly still sleeps and doesn’t often bother to open her eyes even when awake, but I’d say 75% of her non-eating waking moments are spent crying. Is this normal?)

In the afternoon, we met up with a boy who is at Gatito’s school for a playdate and happened to run into another old friend of Gatito’s at the same park. All three boys got along beautifully and I was positively amazed to watch Gatito go off and play on the playground like an ordinary boy. I had brought Ella’s carrier, since I’d envisioned wearing her and standing my usual three steps away as I encouraged play. Instead, I sat on a bench with Ella in my lap, talking to the other mothers and trying to keep an eye on Gatito as he roamed far and wide on the playground. Ordinary stuff for most four-year-olds, but the first time I’d ever seen Gatito like that. So amazing how much he’s grown and matured lately.

As for me, I was quite proud of my ability to handle both kids. Of course, tomorrow I’ve got the school drop off in addition to pickup to contend with and no plans for the afternoon, and later in the week it is supposed to rain, but that is what our memberships to the aquarium and children’s museum are for, right?