And on the tails of that last post...
My boys have really matured this summer. Sis is still the ringleader, but the boys can hold their own.
For a couple of years now, I've allowed Matt to walk to the square with Emily. It's about a four-ish block walk, across one kind of busy street. They've gotten to know the square pretty well at this point, and the merchants even recognize them. In fact, I was at wine tasting with one local merchant, and she said, "I didn't realize Emily was your daughter!" That hit me as funny. This last summer, I've begun to let Mikey walk up to the square with the older kids. He does very well, and there haven't been any problems.
School is right off the square. For all of them, actually. Emily walks to and from school pretty frequently, but her hours don't coincide with the boys'. They've been hounding me all summer and all week about letting them walk to school. So this morning, I let them. I gave them detailed directions, and had them repeat the directions back to me, several times. I armed Matt with his cell phone. I walked to the end of the street with them, and pointed out the way to school with them. And I sent them on the way.
*Something* told me to stay there and watch. I'm so glad I listened to my *something*. The boys crossed the street and started walking to the school. So far so good. They were talking, but were very aware of what was going on. Then came the scary part. Would they realize Franklin is a street? Would they look both ways before crossing?
WAIT! What were they doing? They were doing it wrong! I can't believe my eyes! They crossed BACK OVER the street! They were heading BACK HOME! No, they weren't! They were going...
...THE WRONG WAY!
I hopped on the phone and called Matt. "You need to turn around and come back home. You're going the wrong way." He argued with me for a moment until I reminded him that I had lived in this neighborhood 37 years longer than he had, and I thought I probably knew my way around. Dejected, he and Mikey turned back around and headed back home. I met them halfway in the car, and drove them to school with just 2 minutes to spare.
I don't know when (if) I will be willing to let them do the "walk to school experiment" anytime soon. My heart can only take so much.
For a couple of years now, I've allowed Matt to walk to the square with Emily. It's about a four-ish block walk, across one kind of busy street. They've gotten to know the square pretty well at this point, and the merchants even recognize them. In fact, I was at wine tasting with one local merchant, and she said, "I didn't realize Emily was your daughter!" That hit me as funny. This last summer, I've begun to let Mikey walk up to the square with the older kids. He does very well, and there haven't been any problems.
School is right off the square. For all of them, actually. Emily walks to and from school pretty frequently, but her hours don't coincide with the boys'. They've been hounding me all summer and all week about letting them walk to school. So this morning, I let them. I gave them detailed directions, and had them repeat the directions back to me, several times. I armed Matt with his cell phone. I walked to the end of the street with them, and pointed out the way to school with them. And I sent them on the way.
*Something* told me to stay there and watch. I'm so glad I listened to my *something*. The boys crossed the street and started walking to the school. So far so good. They were talking, but were very aware of what was going on. Then came the scary part. Would they realize Franklin is a street? Would they look both ways before crossing?
WAIT! What were they doing? They were doing it wrong! I can't believe my eyes! They crossed BACK OVER the street! They were heading BACK HOME! No, they weren't! They were going...
...THE WRONG WAY!
I hopped on the phone and called Matt. "You need to turn around and come back home. You're going the wrong way." He argued with me for a moment until I reminded him that I had lived in this neighborhood 37 years longer than he had, and I thought I probably knew my way around. Dejected, he and Mikey turned back around and headed back home. I met them halfway in the car, and drove them to school with just 2 minutes to spare.
I don't know when (if) I will be willing to let them do the "walk to school experiment" anytime soon. My heart can only take so much.
Valerie,
*Why* do kids argue over the dumbest things like we are the ones who are newbies or clueless. While this is a cute story, I swear it highlights the most unfun and unappreciated part of being a parent.
Peace,
Jamie (W@H)
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