Tell me again why I'm doing this?

Last evening was a whole bunch of running around. And the whole time I was doing it, I was wondering...why am I doing this? Is this really important enough to warrant this amount of juggling? It was the first Parent Partnership meeting of the year at Meadowbrook. We didn't make it to any of them last year since Joshua began nursery school mid year. I really didn't know anything about what happened at these meetings, but being the conformist that I am, felt guilty for not having been present when our presence was requested.

So, I rushed home from the office to feed Lauren, get supper ready and shoveled into the rest of us and out the door at 6:00. Joshua and Jason stayed home to play a little bit and get ready for bed while Lauren and I went to the meeting.

For most of the meeting, I was standing in the back of the room bouncing Lauren around to keep her quiet and still. When that didn't work, I was wrestling her out of the bags of the people who were seated around us. I spent more time bending over to pick up the trail of Puffs that she left on the ground like Hansel and Gretel than I did watching and listening to the presentations. It ended up being good information, but nothing that was earth shattering or seemingly worthy of the amount of schedule reorganization that was required to get there. I could feel myself getting a bad attitude.

Until they started sharing what they called Meadowbrook Moments....times when neat little things happened that show what a special place Meadowbrook is. There were a lot of stories, unsolicited, but that parents just felt like sharing. There were great interactions with teachers, between students...kind gestures that show the heart of the kids there. The last person to talk said that he wasn't sure this would mean much to anyone else there besides him, but that his son, Hayden, has a severe peanut allergy. He said that his Meadowbrook moment has happened over and over again throughout the past few years that his son has been attending school there. He said that his heart is moved so deeply every single time he hears one of his son's classmates say, "Did anyone check that snack for Hayden? You know he can't have any peanuts, right?" or when parents call ahead to talk to them about a birthday party, making sure that Hayden won't be left out. I had tears in my eyes as I realized why I was there last night.

After the small (although thankfully uneventful) peanut scare we had with the M&M mix up a few weeks ago, I think all of our confidence was a bit shaken over the vigilance necessary with helping Joshua to stay safe when he's as small as he is. But I knew why I had felt led to be at that meeting last night. And I'm so glad I followed that urge, despite the circumstances of the day trying to convict me otherwise.

I'm pretty sure there was nothing accidental about that.

I'll end with a few pictures....

Here's what has been happening in the evenings. Joshua CRASHES. These early mornings are doing him in. But we can tell he loves school because he is always excited to get ready once he wipes the sleep from his eyes.

Where's Lauren's tongue? She can now show you her eyes, ears, nose, tongue, head, hair, fingers, toes and tummy when asked. Cracks me up!


I'm already seeking counseling to help get over the fact that she'll be one next week.
Tell me that's not really happening...