Do they teach "smile for the camera" in preschool?

I just made my husband a plate of Triscuits with Monterey Jack cheese (lightly melted, 12 seconds in microwave) as a surprise and he nearly fell off his chair. Apparently, I don't do nice things very often. I suppose I could work on that, but then they wouldn't be so surprising, would they?

On another topic, Emily's future is set; I don't have to worry about her any more. She won't drop out of school. She will graduate college. She will not bring me home a baby when she's fifteen.

Emily has been accepted into preschool. [Insert choir of angels here.]

We did it. Yeah! Okay, I won't lie: I freaked out a little bit. Okay, maybe a lot. But then I made appointments, dressed in my pampered suburban housewife duds, and dragged Emily to three preschool tours. The choice was obvious by the second school we visited. It was sunny and clean, with lots of toys and art supplies. The director and teachers were receptive, warm, and kid-positive. The school's philosophy incorporates a play-based and independent approach to learning, and I don't know... it just felt right. Emily loved it from the moment we stepped inside and I could see myself dropping her off there every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 9 and picking her up at 12. The place made me feel good; I wanted to go to preschool after visiting it.

So I sent in our application and a non-refundable fee. I wrote a little note on the application: "We enjoyed our visit to your school! I hope we will be seeing you in the fall!" It's good to give things a personal touch, you know. Then I waited. And within a couple of days, I received a letter advising me that I was #11 on the waiting list.

OH GOD! WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

I knew I had blown it. Especially when a friend who also had applied to the school told me that she was #4. I kind of hated her just a little bit for being so on top of things and getting her application in so fast. Doesn't she have anything better to do than fill out preschool applications? was what I was thinking when I wasn't thinking, I'm doomed.

But then I got the magic phone call. There was an opening in the Tuesday/Thursday class; did I want it? Did I? (This is a big question. I actually wanted M/W/F, but I figured that if I get her in T/TH, there will be a good chance that M/W/F will open up. Another friend has her son there all five days and loves it. I'm hoping we'll get to that point next year when Emily's pre-K.) Short answer: YES!

And that's how Emily got into preschool. It actually wasn't as hard as the hype surrounding the process led me to believe it would be.

Of course, I just did all of this work to get her enrolled at a school that she won't start until September, but it's something to look forward to, I suppose. And between then and now I have the task of convincing her that diapers (not to mention bathtubs) are for babies, and potties are for big kids. Whee.

On second thought, make that whee whee.

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