change of heart

i so ess-ited to go to school today!
he ran down three flights of stairs, naked,
and was waiting by the front door.

bye! i love you, mama!
he shouted up to me as my husband
carried our boy's shirt, pants, shoes, raincoat,
lunchbox, and monkey backpack, down to babychop.
c'mon, papa! let's goooooooooooo!



it wasn't such a sunny beginning.
two weeks ago, after his first day, he begged,
i don't want to go to school!
i don't want to go to school!
i don't want to go to school!
please, mama. please, papa!
i just miss you so much!
(repeat at least 20 times and you'll get the picture)

after the first two days, he solemnly stated,
i already went two times.
not five.
just two.
and that is enough.

at the end of the first week, he threw his face into my neck, and sobbed.
i just want to stay at home with
mama, and papa, and a cat called paprikash!

it was awful. he would start pleading
from the moment i picked him up in the afternoon,
all through the evening until bedtime.
it began again the moment he opened his eyes in the morning.
the begging-not-to-go.
the refusing-to-get-dressed.
the pleading-and-declaring-his-love, trying to change our minds
as i tried to hide my own tears.

and then, CLICK.
something shifted.
maybe it was the crocodile and monkey song that won him over.
or maybe it was the chickens that live next to the playground.
it may have been the school garden, where the snacks come from.
or maybe it's the comraderie with the other boys after
learning how to stand up and use a urinal...