Challenge Accepted

When the new kid feels like the new kid.

That’s what I’m dealing with now with my L, who graduated from kindergarten last March and just turned 6, and has started 1st grade this week, at a new school. My kulit, chatty boy, after the first day of school, seemed a little too quiet and not eager to share about his first day, or the second. To be fair, it is only the third day, and I may be worrying a bit too much this early on, but it broke my heart, when I was asking him about who had lunch with, and he said, “I don’t want to talk about that.” Sigh.

Just a few years ago, when I was still breastfeeding him and going through exhausting, sleepless nights (which I am going through again now, with baby G. Yes, another baby, who I will be writing about soon enough!), I remember asking other mothers, who I considered veteran moms, “Does it get easier?” And I now have an answer. No, it doesn’t. Sure, my back isn’t aching anymore from chasing him around. Nor am I ceaselessly telling him not to put that thing in his mouth, or frustratingly teaching him how to use the potty. At some point, the sleep does come back, and the physical aches go away (unless you have another baby, which I will eventually get to talking about). The challenges of parenthood don’t stop, they just change.

And so the adventure continues and the challenges of raising a curious, talkative, science-experiment-loving, self-proclaimed fruitatarian and his little sister with also quite the personality, goes on. Challenge accepted.

UPDATE: Almost a month into his new school, he has now declared: “I love my school!” And he always talks about the things they do and the new friends he’s made. Whew! Glad I was just overreacting. Haha!