Survival Of The Fittest

Most of my friends have children that are school-aged. Our children are about the same ages. Most of them were involved in the same mommy-group. This means our children entered kindergarten at the same time. Much of us are on our 2nd or 3rd child. Life has taken us to the same phases at once, so I'm sure we're all trying to survive something.

Preschool is training for the real fight. In preschool, you're warming up. They're playing and learning social skills. They learn to share. They learn to wipe. They learn to be without. In preschool they are babies.

Kindergarten is different. Now, you're racing. You're in the Olympics. They teach reading and writing and arithmetic. They teach life. They teach this to the parents not the children.

I have wanted to fight a number of people on Isaiah's behalf. It takes a strong mother not to run someone over in the parking lot, not to smack the office ladies, not to take offense when your child can't get the attention that he needs. Kindergarten is survival of the fittest parent--not child.

There is no Parenting 101 class. You don't know when enough is enough. You have to learn these things. You have to learn to forgive--forgive yourself. You have to learn when to let go and when to fight.

Josiah isn't in that stage yet. I haven't had the opportunity to fight for him the way I've been presented with the opportunity to fight for Isaiah. Isaiah is my guinea pig, he is my first for everything. I have to learn to navigate the waters of the education system while fighting the insurance system. Only the fittest survive. Isaiah is ready. So, I must prepare.