A Woman Who Knows What She Wants

My daughter's daycare separates the children into age groups. For almost a year now, my daughter's been in the 2 to 3 year room. Once a child reaches 3, that child is transferred to the "preschool" section of the daycare. My daughter was so impressed by the older kids when she first arrived, she immediately began to copy them. Soon, she was telling The Doctor and me about her friends in daycare, mentioning them by name.

Sadly, all of my daughter's close friends have moved on to preschool. The ones left are much younger and the majority of them remain in diapers.

Every morning now begins with the lament, "Daddy, I don't want to go to school. I want to go to preschool." I can't control when they move her. It's dependent on her age and availability. So I tell her that it's going to be several weeks more, sweetie, but you'll be in preschool very soon.

"Yesterday, I want preschool?" I think she means "tomorrow."

"Soon, sweetie. You'll be with your friends again soon. But not today."

Sometimes I get a demand at this point. Sometimes I get drama. Most often the topic of conversation moves on. Yesterday, I got this:

"Oh, no preschool?"

"Not today, but soon."

"I want to go to the beach! We going to the beach? I want BEACH!"

We drove six hours to Santa Monica. Her friends were waiting there, too.