The Note

So from my earlier post about hurting my back, I mentioned that I'm not picking up Melissa.  It really hasn't been that big of a deal.  Eric will put her to bed and get her out in the morning.  She can climb up onto our bed, and I can hold her from there, or we've figured out a multi-step process if she wants to sit in her high chair, etc.  I really just can't pick her up if she is on the ground.   She seemed fine with that.

So I didn't think anything about school on Wednesday.  She goes in, gets her cereal to eat at the table, I get her napkin, and then she wants me to pick her up so she can get a cup to get some water.  Problem here - I can't lift her.  Ms. Beth offers, but Melissa doesn't want her to.  I explain that Mommy hurt her back, she has a boo-boo, etc and I can't pick her up.  Either I can get a cup for her, or Ms. Beth can pick her up to get the cup.  But that is not what she wanted.  She wanted ME to pick her up so that SHE could get the cup.

Ms. Beth goes to distract her while I slip away.  As I'm signing Melissa in, I can hear her crying.  Really crying.  I don't worry about it too much because I figure she was upset that her routine had been messed with.  Home is one thing, but school is different, right?

When I go to get Melissa that afternoon,  I check with Ms. Beth to see how long she cried and whether she was ok the rest of the day.  Ms. Beth looks at me with a smile and says, "Well, I asked her if she wanted to write Mommy a note about why she was upset and she said yes.  She told me what to write on the note and then she calmed down and was fine after that."

Let me just say that I think that was an awesome way to help a child express themselves. 

I asked Ms. Beth about the note, and she said "You'll just have to read it for yourself".

And this was Melissa's note about why she was sad:

She even drew a sad face at the bottom.

She got a ton of kisses the rest of the day, from both me and Daddy.  And even if I have to slip away, I will always remember to kiss her before I go.