Maturity

Since Ethan has started school (barring day 1 in which Mommy took him) Daddy has been picking him up from and dropping him off at school.

Until today.  I knew I needed to "check in" with the teachers.  This past school year (read: Jan - June for us new Vermonsters) I spoke with them every morning he attended.  Now, I'm very in the dark.  After explaining to Matt that I might start convulsing on the floor from lack of information he did actually approach one of the teachers last week.  Now, spurred by Matt's request for information to be passed along to the "after care teacher" the teachers write notes on each kid to be handed to parents so that we are not all left in the cold, frigid dark of not knowing intimate details of our kids' days at school.  Holy control freak Jen and also run on sentence!

I sat down with one of his teachers this morning and had a chat.

She used the words "maturity" and "listening" and "trying new food."  Be still my heart.  My kid?  Rock on Ethan!

I, myself, have noticed a change in him this past summer.  A . . . shifting . . . of his perception.  He still throws temper tantrums and whines and cries about dust bunnies and how he misses dinosaurs and such BUT he will listen to me when I try to reason with him.  Gone are the days of instant time outs.  Which, by the way, still work wonders.  Why the kid listens to me, I have no clue.  But if I say go upstairs to cool off . . . he does.  He comes back downstairs after he has reset and it works.  Gone are the days of complete nonsensical screaming/screeching/wailing.  I can knock on his "door" and get through to him.  This is monumental.  I know that being a toddler is tough business.  Some days I imagine he must get tired of everyone telling him what to learn, what to eat and hound him about rights and wrongs.  He has such an effervescent personality that when he shuts down it is beyond frustrating. He still has his overtired moments, but let's be honest, don't we all?

It is like a light at the end of the tunnel.  Everything this past year has been so challenging with the move and "life."  The road was seriously bumpy, washed out in some sections and never lit properly but we survived.  We are coming up on one year in Vermont and I have some awesome fall events lined up for the coming weeks.  I've made friends and Ethan has made friends.  He is HAPPY and that means the absolute world to me.  Even though he still prefers that Daddy does the night time routine, I have my place with my Ethan Wee.  Who has, apparently, shown great strides in maturity since last school year (June people . . . 3 months.)  Kids, they grow up in leaps and bounds.  Don't blink folks.