As part of his year in pre-K, Miles is expected to “read” 100 books, logging each one. While we read with him almost every night, Jaclyn and I aren’t always the most diligent about actually recording those books. As some of Miles’s classmates began hitting that milestone, we vowed to improve our attention to this.
Miles finally hit his goal last week, and while he was certainly excited about it, he was also really sheepish about being the one to tell his teacher about reaching this milestone. When I dropped him off at early care (where he goes if we get there, as we need to, before 8:00), I reminded him to show his teacher his reading list. He was immediately clingy, not wanting me to leave until he could go to his classroom at the top of the hour.
Now, staying at Miles’s school until 8:00 means I will absolutely be late for work. There is simply no way for me to bend the laws of physics enough to make up for 15-20 minutes of lost travel time. And yet, this particular morning, I relented quickly. I didn’t care whether Miles was afraid he would forget to tell his teacher or if he simply wanted me to be there to enjoy the praise he was sure he’d receive — I decided work could wait for one morning.
When I finally told his teacher that he had reached the 100 book milestone that praise did come, and Miles beamed. We said a quick goodbye after that and Miles went about beginning his morning routine.
Today, Miles was recognized by the whole class for his accomplishment, and I realized why it was so important to him. There’s a prize box involved, and Miles was able to pick out some more LEGOs which, of course, he then assembled all by himself.
The Perils (& Pride) of Paternity 