Wednesday, Mar. 17, 2010

Apples from our trees

At Big Guy's school, students choose their electives while parents do the enrolling. And it's first come, first serve.

When it became known the e-mail enrollment link would be available beginning at 6 a.m., parents prepared. May the quickest fingers win.

At 5:55 a.m., my alarm sounded. At 5:58, I clicked on my inbox and waited.

At 6:04 a.m., the link hadn't arrived. My blood pressure spiked. More minutes passed. Was it my computer? Would he get his choices? Were any other mothers awake?

Turns out, I was far from alone. One e-mail passed between friends exposed an entire community of trying-not-to-be-too-extreme-but-we-can't-help-it mothers who were wide awake. By 6:24 a.m., gmail was burning up.

Welcome to the world of the Type A person. Different than those helicopters kinds, but just as intense.

Our kids do homework and projects alone. But don't confuse their independence for our lack of interest. We care. A lot. And when required to step up, we're first in line. We can't help ourselves.

Neither can our children. Many of those still snuggled in blankets begged to be woken up to witness their choices entered. I forced Big Guy to sleep, but wasn't surprised his first words were, "Did I get them?" followed by frustration when learning the process didn't work.

Poor kid, he never stood a chance against this dominant type A gene. We know the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. But there are moments it slams right into it.