Field trips!

The preschool that my kids attend (and Andrew attended), goes on just one field trip a year. To a farm in the fall. And I have never gotten to go with them, because they don't allow younger siblings and Michael would totally freak out when I left him somewhere...and I just couldn't do that to my friends.

But this year was different. Michael is fine with being left behind now, so on Monday, I dropped him off at a friend's house and joined Lily at the farm.

Lily is simply a blast to watch with her friends. Everyone loves each other and they just run around hugging and playing and dancing. Cute. Well, the girls did that. The boys stood quietly by their mothers and held their hands.

The first thing we did was take a hay ride behind a tractor. All the girls hurried on and sat together...leaving no room for their mothers. My guilt at having missed these events quickly evaporated. Lily was totally fine. She hardly even looked at me. The boys mostly sat next to their mothers and on their laps for the hay ride. The girls barely looked out the sides and chatted like a bunch of ladies playing ma-jong.

Once we got off the tractor, it was time to pick apples and look for pumpkins. I took a motherless boy under my wing, since it was instantly apparent why mothers are needed on these field trips. Mother guilt...back on. So Lily, B., and I reached up high for apples and put them in our bags. Then we wandered over to the pumpkin patch and looked for the perfect pumpkin. Lily wanted "cute". B. wanted "clean". I just hope that other mothers looked out for my kiddos when I wasn't able to be there.

We had fun. I was grateful to be there and spend the morning with "just my girl". Lily must have been excited to, since she repeated that phrase 25 times that morning. Even though she ignored me for half the trip. Whatev's.

Michael's field trip was Thursday, when Lily was conveniently already at school. A friend of mine took Lily to school and Michael and I were off to a different farm. I was really excited about this trip, because I don't know any of the parents or kids in this class. Also, Michael only tells me horrible things about his horrible behavior (his teachers continue to deny this)...I was ready for some first hand observations. ALSO, Michael doesn't know anyone's names...when I ask him who he plays with, he tells me things like, "It's a boy. He has brown eyes and light skin." Gee, thanks for the info, Riddler.

We showed up and all the kids were hiding behind their mother's legs. What a difference a year makes in the socialization of the kids!

We took a hay ride...Michael was enraptured. I got to chat with the other mothers and observe the other kids. No one seemed to take notice of each other. Except for one little boy who was picking straw and trying to shove it down kids shirts. And hit. Interesting.

After the ride, we listened to the farmer tell us about the chickens and turkeys and horses and bunnies. Michael was quiet and polite and focused. He didn't shove and push the other kids. He got pushed around a bit, and just quietly dealt with it. Interesting.

There were lots of lines and needing patience. He waited somewhat patiently and never did any of the things he tells me about. That little boy from his class? A terror. An absolute terror...pushing and harrassing other kids, yelling at them. After he shoved Michael almost off a slide, the mother confided that she's already had several conferences with the teachers regarding her son's aggressive behavior. Perhaps Michael is just telling me what this little boy is doing every day...


It was delightful. Michael really needed me there...he is shy and easily intimidated. He was so excited to be there.

As sad as I am sometimes that I will never have another baby...I am really glad that I can now participate more fully in the lives of the children I already have. This part is really fun!