Coming Home For Awhile
"Is tomorrow my last school day?" Gabriel asks.
"No - not 'til the end of the month, Buddy." I reply.
Gabriel is literally counting down the days until he leaves preschool/day care for an extended break. Although I know he'll miss his friends, he seems to be looking forward to it.
Several factors drove our decision to bring Gabriel home for the next few months prior to kindergarten, including:
- Gabriel and Hannah could use more time together.
- Gabriel is at the magical age where he can help out. He is particularly good at helping us care for and entertain his sister - let the indentured servitude start!
- Gabriel needs Mommy time. Not getting enough Mommy time.
- Gabriel has a long, thirteen years of compulsory education to look forward to - seems fair to allow him to pause as he walks the steps to the gallows!
- Dwindling funds in Gabriel's school account. Although replenishable, all of the above convinced us that some time at home would be both fair and productive for everyone.
Preschool wasn't our first choice anyway. We originally considered homeschooling. But when Hannah came home from NICU, we needed help. Her medical needs were significant, and Gabriel was getting very little of our time. To fill the gap, we used a nanny service for the first few months (with my parent's considerable financial help). This gave us time to focus on Hannah, but gave Gabriel some focused attention and playtime.
As our realization grew that Hannah's medical needs would be intensive and long term, we moved Gabriel to preschool/day care (again, with my parent's help). We swore he would never go to day care, but circumstances dictated differently. We ended up finding a great place near my work, and, after some sad, teary-eyed drop-offs, we all transitioned to this new reality.
Now things have changed. Hannah's health has improved considerably. She requires less intensive medical intervention when she is feeling well, and she craves playtime with and (at her sole discretion) without her brother. Gabriel has grown, and he is more self-directed in using his time well. Looking at both kids wants/needs and our desire to run our house inclusively, Janette and I made the decision to bring Gabriel home for awhile.
At home, we'll continue to work with Gabriel on pre-reading, problem solving (no, not just via the Nintendo DS), and other skills. He'll have time with his sister and Mom plus the neighborhood kids. Hannah will still have her play and exercise time and probably more time with playmates. And they both will get tons of Mommy time.
You know what that means, of course. When I get home at 6:00 pm, I need to be ready to take over as Mom dashes for the car, speeds off the driveway, and disappears into the night, screaming, "I'm free! I'm fffrrreeeeeeee!"
-- Dad
