Preschooler

I had hoped that either last night or today I would be posting adorable and silly little pictures of Reuben at his preschool Christmas program. Reuben - all dressed up. And who knows what to expect at a preschool program, right? Jonah's three year old program, he "sort of" sang along, but it was still so cute, and such a great little memory of him.

Ha.

Reuben proved himself to be, well, Reuben.

He was sooooooo excited to wear his little dress outfit. Thankfully, one given to us, because those things are ridiculously expensive! Button down shirt, slacks, a matching vest, and THEN he got to wear the reindeer tie that I got for a $1 at Kohls' last spring on a clearance rack. He was parading himself around the house ... so loving his "outfit" as he proudly proclaimed. We bundled up (because it is actually getting cold!), headed to preschool, walked into the building, and he had a meltdown.

Not just a quick meltdown. No. A meltdown like "I DON'T WANT TO SING! I DON'T WANT TO BE ON STAGE! I DON'T WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL ANYMORE!"

Say what? Weren't we just super excited about this - like only 10 minutes ago?

His teachers tried. Eli talked to him. His favorite music teacher talked to him, I talked to him ... begging him to participate. And this is where it is so frustrating. You can't really force a three year old to stand on stage and look happy and sing along to songs. Doesn't work. He would not, for the life of him, get up on the stage. He sat on the floor, outside the room, while all the other beginners sang.

Ugh. He had been singing his songs at home for me for weeks!

Nothing.

Several times I would whisper, You love this song! Want to join your class and sing for us?

Nope. He sat with his legs crossed, chin in hands, no response.

I admit - I was furious. Furious! No pictures, no video, just us - the parents with THE KID ... you know?

And then I had to let go. Elisa ... let go. This was a preschool program. Just a preschool program. The poor kid feel asleep on short drive home. I could tell he was a little tired, but apparently he was t.i.r.e.d., and no preschooler operates well in that state. This day does not determine the rest of his life ... he just did not want to sing to a room full of people. In the grand scheme of life, this will not matter, and someday, I will actually laugh about it!

I was excited for that little sing. Excited to tape him and have the same memory of him that we had with Jonah. And as I sat fuming on the drive home I realized I could let this ruin my day, or just let it go. And I certainly didn't need to ruin his day (post-nap) by reminding him of his failure to "perform". He will return to preschool no worse for the wear - hopefully - and I still have a memory. Not the one I hoped for, but a memory! He woke up, and happily wore his outfit all the rest of the day.

So, no cute little preschool Christmas pictures. But a good Mommy lesson learned.