That Mom

It has taken awhile for me to be ready to post about this. Friday Jack met his preschool teachers and the rest of his classmates. I knew he wasn't going to be with any of his friends and I was okay with that. I assumed he wasn't with anyone he knew because I had volunteered him to be in the peanut free classroom. I figure in the real world you are not always going to be with your pals so you will have to work to make new friends. You know, make new friends but keep the old; some are silver and the others gold. Okay, maybe you don't know if you weren't a girl scout! When I walked Jack into class there were 4 other children crying like babies because they were afraid to be there. This was not an actual school day, it was just meet the teacher and your mom stays with you. After talking to one of the teachers I realized why Jack wasn't with anyone he knew. He has always been the youngest in the older kid class and because of the way the birthdays fell this time he is the oldest in the younger kid class. When he was in the older kid class he was always one of the most mature and fit in great, so I am uneasy about him being with all of the crybabies. Then I over heard a conversation between another mother and the teacher that went something like this:

Mother: Are there any kids with allergies in this class?
Teacher: No, isn't that great? I love nothing more than peanut butter M&Ms and a Diet Coke!
Mother: Oh good, I wanted to bring in some peanut butter play-doh that the kids can play with and eat.
Teacher: Oh, that would be lots of fun! I can bring cookie cutters and chocolate chips to put in it!

Okay, I didn't put that Jack was allergic to peanuts on his form because he can eat a few if they are in trail mix or something and he can sit next to a kid that has a peanut butter sandwich in his lunch. But, at the same time if he eats too much peanut butter his stomach gets upset and he throws up. I assumed that in a preschool setting they weren't going to give the kids peanut butter...silly me!

I was really upset after meet the teacher and was frantically trying to call Anne and Trisha to ask their advice. Meanwhile, they were making the birthday cake for my surprise party so they were avoiding my calls. I called home, I called cell phones, and then I tried again...nothing. I even called my mom at work and her cell phone and couldn't get her. I was feeling so sorry for myself! So I called Travis who said, "you need to call the director, he can't be in that class!” So, I was that mom and called the director to voice my concerns. She basically told me that there is nothing she can do at this late date about Jack's classroom but she will send an email to the teachers about peanut butter play-doh. I have since gotten to talk to Anne and Trisha who have helped me come down the off the ledge, but I am still not completely sold on this being the right class for Jack. I asked Jack if he liked his new class and he told me that it was awesome, his favorite part is the pretend vacuum cleaner.