Back to the grind (almost)

Jet started back to school today. I don't go back until tomorrow, so I got him up and took him this morning. Normally, I'm out of the house by 6:00 a.m., so Knight does everything with and for Jet in the mornings. I try to remember to lay out clothes and whatever else Jet might need for the day, but sometimes I forget.

Getting back into the routine is hard for most people, but seemed especially hard for him. It doesn't help that, at three years old, one cannot be reasoned with.

Jet is generally a morning person (or so I'm told), but it just wasn't working for him today. Reminders that he had been asking every single day of the break if that day was the day he was going back to school didn't work. (Part of my mommy heart was hurt that he wasn't totally excited to be home with me, but mostly I was so glad that he loves his school so much.) Reminding him that he had new shoes to wear to school to show his friends didn't help. Coaxing, cajoling, pleading, disciplining, and pretty much everything else short of bodily picking up the child and shoe-horning him into the car didn't work either. (I'm trying to stop the picking-him-up thing, since he's actually big enough to hurt me if he decides to flail appendages.)

Somehow we made it to the car, and got both of us buckled. It was cold this morning; the thermometer in my car read 20 (that's twenty - and can we please remember that I am a Texan through and through?) degrees. Naturally, upon turning the still new key, my car said to me, "No thanks. It's cold, and I'd prefer to stay here. You can walk today."

*sigh*

Knight came out and poked at some things under the hood, poured warm water on the starter, waved his magic wand, and sacrificed a chicken to the god of good car engine karma. The car started, but then shuddered and died. We tried a bit more, but to no avail.

The main problem in all of this is that we have a one-lane driveway, and had parked my car behind Knight's upon returning from the New Year's festivities yesterday. Otherwise, I would have hopped in his car long enough to take Jet. Knight finally decided that he would push my car out of the way so I could take his. Jet and I went back into the house to warm up a bit, and then headed out the back door to get in Knight's car. Just as I came off the deck, I heard my car vrrooom to life for Knight.

Nice.

I finally got Jet to his school, whereupon he clung to the backside of my coat and buried his face in my rear. His teacher picked him up and began talking to him about what they would be doing that day, and he brightened considerably. (I think I want to put her in my pocket and bring her home. I think she's about 19, but has an obvious gift for working with little ones.) I even got a half-hearted "'Bye, Mommy" as I walked out the door.

My other main goal today is to go through the mountain of toys in Jet's room. Some will be donated, and the rest will be organized in some fashion or another. Proactively, I bought storage containers that fit under his new big-boy bed. I'm hoping most of the toys will fit in there. Hey, I did say "hoping". Wish me luck!