Being Mrs. Arnow

It’s no secret that the last few months have been unparalleled with change, stress and events, including but not limited to a major move. That move ripped off the comfort bandaid of needing to explore preschools, since we loved Remy’s daycare so much and didn’t plan to leave until they kicked us out. 

Well, moving away (only 20 miles, but in LA traffic, that’s like 20 hours) forced us to recognize that our little man is growing up, and needs more structure and education than a daycare could provide. That could also be because there’s just no other daycare like the one we had and everything else just seemed to be miles behind where my 2-going-on-8 year old boy is at developmentally. 

Before we moved, I found a school that seemed really good, but with a newborn who hates traveling, I wasn’t able to tour it until after we moved. At that point, the one open space they had (for full time) was taken and we were left with that school only as a part time option. Not awesome.  

I found another school that was close by, but was much less intimate and far more “public schoolish” even though it still cost more than our first choice. It was great, but not awesome. People were sweet, but it ultimately didn’t give me the same good feels as the other school. 
We reserved a spot for option #2 for M/W/F, option #1 for T/Th and I kept calling #1 every day to see if the wait list had opened up yet. Nope. Nothing. So bummed. 

As summer closed, maternity time off is dwindling down and my babe needs to get comfy in his new place, the start of schools were eminent. He was going to have to adapt to multiple environments and I was going to have to harness my emotional outbursts at the thought. 

Remy’s first day of school at option #2:     Was yesterday. 
I got him already, packed a nice bento lunch:   

 And we were off, paperwork, check for a zillion dollars, and outrageous emotions in hand.

We got to school (alluring him by calling it a “playground”) and I tucked him into his new classroom. Remy’s a HUGE TALKER, so I asked the teacher if any other the other kids were too. She said yes and brought him to two kids who looked at us blankly and said nothing. Meanwhile, Remy spouted off about the kind of dinosaurs he’d found in the bucket and was telling everyone about them (#shamelessmombrag). 

I got myself together, said goodbye and left him there. With kids who don’t talk. Kicking myself that I made a bad decision and guilting myself to go back and get him. 
I finished the paperwork (BTW- can we talk about that sometime???? How much paperwork can you possibly need for preschool?!) and finally, handed them my aforementioned bazillion dollar check. 

Not even 20 seconds after getting to my car, my phone rang. It was school #1 saying that they had an opening and it was ours for the taking! It wouldn’t be available until 10/1, but it was ours! “I’ll take it” was quickly followed by “Now I have to break up with the other school who’s currently in possession of my firstborn son. Shit.”

I can’t tell you how awkward that conversation was. I mean, I can, but I don’t know that anyone could possibly understand! The switch was flipped and the lights of “welcome to our school” were immediately off and replaced by “come get your kid and get out”. Well, that’s not really true. They let me keep him there for 2 hours, and were cold as ice about it, but I had a sleeping infant and couldn’t leave any sooner. Oops. Sorry, it’s not you, it’s me!! Ok, it’s you, but oh well. 

So, TODAY, Remy started his first day of school, again!!!    

Followed by:
 
And 
 

And a big smile when I picked him up this afternoon! 
Drama is over, life can begin settling in now. I’m happy he’s where he is and even more happy that he’s only there a few days a week while I am still on maternity leave, before starting full time. Oh, timing. You’re a silly monster. Thanks for keeping me on my toes… Again. 

Tags: brain dump, first day of school, mom blog, moving with a family, mrsarnow, preschool, remington grant, tarzana