Friday, November 15, 2013

MAKING SPIDERMAN CRY


"And the seasons they go 'round and round......We're captive on the carousel of time......"

Today, I felt the Circle of Life take another big turn.  My husband and I went to our first Grandparents' Breakfast at our grandson's school.  He has very recently started in our local school district's preschool program.  At three and 3/4 years old, my daughter tells us that he is the youngest in his class. 

OUR LITTLE SPIDERMAN
OUR GRANDSON DRESSED AS SPIDERMAN ON HALLOWEEN
It seems like it was just a short time ago that my husband's mom was going to her first grandparent's lunch at school with our daughter.  It is amazing how fast 24 years have gone by.
Our grandson is in the same school district that our daughter and son in law attended, his grandparents (me and my husband), and even his great grandfather (my dad) attended. He is the fourth generation of our family to attend school in this district.

The preschool was built just three years ago, but when he starts elementary school, that will be the same school that three other generations have attended.

The preschool is light filled, modern, and friendly feeling.  His teacher and the assistant were very kind and patient.  Many grandparents were there, and it seemed that the grandparents were all just as excited as the kids. The room was buzzing with good energy. 

All of us colored,


and worked on a little project, and then in the blink of an eye, it was time for brunch.  Our little grand took us to the cafeteria where we had refreshments.  One of the other teachers stopped by our table for a moment to chat.  She had gone to school with our daughter.

It was then time to go back and get our jackets and line up to go out to the playground.  Some of the grandparents were already leaving to go home.  When our little Spiderman realized that Grandma and Grandpa were getting ready to leave, he started to cry.  Two other kids were crying a little bit, too.  But our grand was really "boo hooing".  In an effort to distract him, the teacher appointed him to be the line leader.  He started crying harder.  And then the teacher appointed our little Spiderman's grandpa to lead the line out to the playground. 

Grandpa Spiderman and little Spiderman held hands,  as we led the class out to the playground.  Things settled down and the tears dried.  Our grandson was surrounded by his friends on the playground and my husband and I thought that it was an appropriate moment to leave.  There was a dramatic crying scene as we said goodbye.  It was all I could do to not take him with us as we left. 

We went back inside through the school to get out to the parking lot, and as we drove across the parking lot to leave, we could see our grandson with his little face pressed to the black iron fence rails, watching us drive away,  still crying as his teacher held his hand.  By this time I was starting to cry, too.

"....We can't return, we can only look behind from where we came, and go 'round and 'round and 'round in the circle game." --From the song The Circle Game written by Joni Mitchell

Am starting to get tears in my eyes all over again as I read this aloud to my husband. 


15 comments:

  1. Oh Susie, what a day! Your poor love, I can feel your tears. Your little Spiderman is so utterly adorable. In my mind's eye I see previous images of him in your posts.
    He obviously adores you and Grandpa!

    The generational progression can be a beautiful thing. There's a similar situation in our family with schools and it brings up wonderful conversations as the different generations have this in common.

    Hugs
    Rose

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great story! I'm glad you captured the day; your grandson will enjoy reading this someday, as I did today.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ohhh...even though that was such a precious time spent with your grandson at his preschool, that was heartbreaking to read of him crying as you left. It probably hurt your heart more than his!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thankyou for sharing this heartfelt experience for all of you.
    Sweet story.
    Balisha

    ReplyDelete
  5. Awwwww!! Your grandson is a sweetheart! What a precious day!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sweet story! Those little ones can sure tug at your heartstrings. It must have been hard to leave him behind!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh you have me crying! He loves you so much! You and grandpa made wonderful memories today! Who knows? He may remember this day when he visits his grandchild for breakfast someday! And I applaud you for not running back in and kidnapping him! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I would have cried too ( mine is 4 so they are not too far apart in age..I can easily imagine that little face pressed against the fence )

    ReplyDelete
  9. oh my gosh i can hardly type for the tears, I came right back to follow you, happy tears happy tears,

    ReplyDelete
  10. What a lovely idea a 'grandparent's breakfast is! Our 3rd grandbaby is on the way, due in March and I'm very excited!
    Jess x x

    ReplyDelete
  11. Love.
    Somehow it always manages to tear you up.
    Luckily, you will remember this day long after he does...
    and then you will remind him
    and his face will light up
    and he will never forget it again.
    And your legacy of the most loved grandparents
    has begun!
    ♥♥♥

    ReplyDelete
  12. Time does have a way of creeping us. Our grandson turns 7 this week and I.t seems like yesterday when we travelled cross-country for his birth.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Heavens...I cannot believe this. That song makes me cry. I just watched, again, "Heartburn" and that song was sung..also the "Itsy Bitsy Spider"...I loved that movie.
    Merle Streep and Jack Nickelson made a great combination in that film. I will watch it again..and again.
    Here I am full circle for the second time...all my little grands are grown and gone from home...all 14 of them. I have so many pictures of them playing together..Easters, Christmas's..family gatherings. I miss those days...so very much. Now the greats are growing up and the oldest one is now 12. I know I will never see their children and when I think of that, I can feel the blood leave my face..I know it's coming. They know it's coming. It shows in my family's faces and how they treat me. It's nice..but it also is frightening. They don't even want to argue with me anymore.
    No more of those grandparents days. Enjoy! It goes so quickly. I sometimes wonder how I got here..where did it all go? You are at such a great time of life!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi Susie!
    Aw, poor Spiderman. I cried every day of kindergarten. I felt so abandoned. It's so sweet that he wanted you to stay.
    Thank you for reading my blog!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Just about make me cry as well....my oldest daughter cried every time I left her for the first three years she was in school. I will never forget those days and here she is....just shy of 40 years old :) Blessings in the new year to you and yours sweet friend

    ReplyDelete