Shawna’s Whimsical Weblog

From the desk of Tim Hamon:

The third birthday isn’t what I consider to be a monumental milestone, as far as milestones go. Considering how Marshall’s life has mostly consisted of us keeping him out of trouble and harm, it’s not really his doing, in the strictest sense. The milestones themselves are much more subtle and rewarding than a mere calendar tick.

His preschool has a minimum age requirement. Specifically, before Marshall turns 3, one of his parents is required to be present in the class. The obvious reason is that younger kids often need more “hands on” guidance for things like potty training and sitting still. The younger kids can’t be expected to do as much by themselves. The school year started in early August, so Mal had about 8 weeks of preschool with one of his parents helping out.

Since he just turned 3, it was now appropriate for us to send him to preschool by himself. We don’t really mind participating in class, but there is a point where we want to “cut the cord” to a certain extent and compel him to experience school by himself. Mom and dad can’t be there forever.

As such, I explained to Marshall that now that he turned 3, he was going to school by himself. I was a bit surprised when he got upset and crying. I asked him what was the matter. Between the sobs and tears “I can’t go to school by myself. I need help crossing the street.”

This is a special milestone moment, but not for necessarily obvious reasons. See, the first “rule” we ever imposed on Marshall was when he was an infant: You do not move around while you are on the changing table. I don’t exactly remember how we got it to stick, but the bottom line is that we didn’t want to turn our back on him and have him roll off the changing table. The rule stuck to the point where I was able to leave the room to address some sort of diaper-related issue and he’d still be lying there, waiting for my return.

The second rule came about when he was able to walk around: You must hold someone’s hand while crossing the street. (Technically, this rule is “You must hold someone’s hand while crossing any place where a car has a right to go.” This was to prevent loopholes such as driveways and parking lots, which may actually be more dangerous.)

So, the milestone is not three years, or even that he’s going to school by himself. What blew me away is that he actually thought he had to walk to school by himself. And to do so, he would knowingly violate one of his cardinal rules. (Never mind the logistics that he may not even really know where he’s going.)

“Awwww!”

A secondary (and less interesting) milestone came about last night. We transitioned Marshall to a “big boy bed.” We’ve got to make plans to re-use his crib, so had him sleep in his bed last night. He cried and fussed about it a little bit, but he eventually quieted down and went to sleep.

As we were winding down, I went in to check on him. I cracked open the door and peered in, but he wasn’t in his bed. I didn’t see any boy-shaped outlines on the floor, which I expected. That was curious. Maybe he went into our room, or the extra room. However, I heard him breathing. I cracked the door open a little more to find him balled up in the corner with a curious interpretation of a restful night of sleep. I cleared off his bed and put him down in a more traditional position.

“Awwww! My neck!”