Love at First School?

These last several days - no, weeks... um, OK months - have been strange ones for me. Maybe it's the third and final addition of Kate to the family that is causing me to have the strongest Mommy Urges that I've ever had. Ever.

As I overheard one of our fellow Kindergarten parents say into his video camera on the first day of school "And there he goes... into the system." It's so crazy that after all these years of being home with them, they are in the mix of the real-world now. Out of my hands for a small portion of each day. I mean sure, we did preschool and all. Two years of it, in fact. That was in our cozy little slice of East Sacramento, with a small population of neighbors that we ran into at the local parks and shops. But now - I mean NOW - it just seems different. It's School. The Big Time.

Now I hear all the stories of the other kids, who does and says what, who hangs around who, who gets into trouble and why (you gotta love a natural-born tattler!), not to mention all the fantastic (ahem!) new words that are flooding into their repertoire. I just don't think there is anything to buffer a parent for the first "crush" of one of their babies. I find myself smiling just thinking about it - so innocent and youthful. I like asking about her and encouraging him to say hello to her (only to be reminded that they are not allowed to talk in class). I fixed his hair up "special" for the third(!) picture day of the year - and for her. But at the same time I feel a little anxious that we've progressed to this phase of life, so fast. I now want to know - who is this girl? Is she good enough to be his first crush? What is her dowry?

What's with it?

How is it that without exposure to guns, bombs, extreme cage-fighting, and other "kill-kill-die" propoganda in our home, my boys still know how to make anything into a weapon? How do they know the noises to make when playing "blast the bad guy" with their toothbrushes? (And why are they better at making these noises than I am?!?!)

I've been so careful (i.e. controlling and sheltering) about access to toys that are traditionally categorized as "aggressive", we do not yet let them watch the blockbuster Spiderman or Pirate movies, and for goodness sake - we make them call water guns "water blasters". So how/why do they do this? There has to be some genetic predisposition for this behavior and their uncanny ability to make the sounds of "violence". On one level, it's amusing. On another, I can't get them to stop. OK - knowing that, I can barely get them to take it down a notch.

I am thankful, however, that it isn't just them. Whew. Talking with other moms I have discovered that almost all boys at this age are experiencing an infatuation with all things burly. As long as I stick to my guns (hmmm, where did that come from?) about what I let them watch, say, and who they play with - I'll let them play like that now and then. They do need to explore.

But they will also always need their limits - and that's when I get my chance to be the best Mommy ever!