DÉJÀ VU ALL OVER AGAIN

Today was the first day of 1st grade for Arden and the first day of preschool for Alex. A day of mixed emotions where I was a little sad to see my girls growing up so fast and let’s be honest, I was also a little elated knowing that I would finally be getting a small piece of my pre-kid life back. Where I could spend the day writing in the comfort of my boxer shorts and not having to pee in the woods behind my office so as not to disturb Alex and her sometimes nanny’s playtime rhythm upstairs. I’d been dreaming of this moment for quite some time. A year to be exact. Back when Arden had her first day of elementary school and Alex had her first day of…preschool.

That’s right, last year Alex also had her first day of preschool, but it didn’t turn out that well. I had to leave her in tears and when I picked her up later that day she was still in tears. She finished the first week off the same way she started, but by the end of that first week we realized she hadn’t peed in 42 hours so we rushed her to the urologist who told us that Alex had one of three possible problems. 1) She had a defective bladder and would have to be catheterized for life. 2) She had a neurological defect that was preventing her from urinating or 3) She had a tumor on her spine. He said most likely it was number one, which was ironically the worst scenario because if she had a neurological defect or a tumor we could at least fix the problem. That’s when the self-loathing began because deep down inside you’re hating yourself for privately hoping your child has a neurological defect or a tumor. Fortunately after putting Alex under general anesthesia for an exploratory procedure we found out Alex had option 4 – a big fat bladder. And there was nothing wrong with her. To comfort us the doctor did say, “The good news is that Alex will have a social advantage in school because she’ll never miss a conversation because she has to pee.” Yes, very comforting doctor. Personally I thought the good news is that Alex was fine. The even better news was that the next day she was done with diapers, but we decided, maybe we should keep Alex out of school until next fall.

So here we are, a year later. Arden went off to 1st grade this morning without a hitch (and by without a hitch I mean that she got assigned a classroom that had not one of her friends in it and a new teacher who didn’t bother setting up the classroom) and Alex walked into preschool with a newfound confidence, ready to take on the world of finger paints and Duck Duck Goose, without her Daddy.

However, there was another little girl at Alex’s preschool, crying her eyes out for her father who had just left. She was terrified of all the teachers in their blue aprons and saw me and said, “Please hold me, please.” I looked around, thinking she’s gotta mean someone else, but she meant me. I tried to help calm her down, tried to introduce her to Alex, but she was busy riding a trike across the playground. The little girl looked so sad and all the teachers were busy with other first day introductions. So what else could I do? I scooped her up and she put her head on my shoulder and wiped her snot on my sleeve, and within a few minutes she was calm and ready to start her first day. And as I walked out of school, I felt a little less elated about my newfound freedom and a little bit sadder that my girls are growing up.

BEST DAY EVER!

You tell yourself you’re gonna do things differently with the second kid. You’re not gonna rush off to sterilize their binky every time it falls to the floor, you’re not gonna worry about having them hang out with another baby who’s got so much snot running down his face that he looks like a glazed donut. And you think sending them off to school that first day is gonna be a piece of cake the second time around. Well today was Alex’s first day of preschool and it was far from a piece of cake. Though there was cake involved.

Just like the day Arden started school there, three years before, I felt like I needed a stiff drink when I walked out the door. Alex was totally fine; she had a boatload of new toys to play with and just as many new opportunities to stain her clothes. She waved “goodbye” to me no problem; it was me that was a wreck. With Arden I was nervous leaving her there, letting someone else be in control of her daily destiny. I was also on edge because Arden had to go up and down a flight of stairs to get to her classroom and she didn’t know how to climb stairs yet. This time I didn’t have any of those worries. Well, the stair thing still bothered me a bit, but what really got to me was that this was the end of an era. The last child I’m ever going to have, assuming we have no accidents between now and when I get the boys snipped next summer, is no longer a baby. She’s officially a preschooler now and she’s going to learn very quickly how to be independent and no longer need her daddy the way she did before. The magic of seeing her discover the world around her will soon fade.

But today was also a great day. Arden is still on winter break thanks to the Los Angeles Unified School District’s three freakin’ week holiday schedule and with Alex being in school it was a rare occasion for me to hang out with just Arden, so I decided to do something special with her. I decided to take her to the American Girl Store Café and have a special father-daughter lunch with her.

I’ve always been against the whole American Girl thing (the commercialism, the racial stereotypes with their “historic” dolls), but man do they know how to make a little girl and her dad feel special inside that café. First off you need reservations and with those reservations you need to check in fifteen minutes early, probably so there’s some guaranteed shopping time while you wait. And of course we shopped. But the procedure helps make the meal feel like an event. That and having your daughter dress in a matching outfit with her doll. Once it’s time to be seated, you and your doll(s) (there was a kid there with five dolls) are escorted to your table where your doll is placed in their very own tableside booster. Then you’re served warm sticky buns, followed by fruit skewers and crudité with ranch and honey mustard dipping sauces. Then comes the main course. Arden had “butterfly pasta” (bowtie pasta) and I had the turkey dinner and I gotta say, it was damn good. I washed it down with a peach bellini and Arden a Shirley Temple. Dessert consisted of chocolate mousse in a flowerpot, a frosted sugar cookie and a heart-shaped piece of cake. We were both given all three of those. And to keep you and your daughter entertained you’re given a little box of questions to ask between courses. Things like, “Would you rather be able to fly or turn invisible? And why?” Arden chose invisible so she could spy on her boyfriend and kiss him when he isn’t looking. For the record Arden doesn’t have a boyfriend, at least not a requited one. She's obsessed with a little boy named Goetz who refuses to kiss her. Anyway, it was a wonderful experience, but what was really great was hearing for the rest of the day, “This is the best day ever.”

After lunch we tried to shake off our sugar comas and went to pick up Alex at school. We arrived just as naptime was getting over. As we were walking down the hall we overheard Alex’s teacher (who just happened to be Arden’s first teacher) pretending to call me, in order to calm Alex down. We were told she was great all day, but when she woke up from her nap fifteen minutes prior she was a little confused and started crying for me. I know it sounds cruel, but I couldn’t help but smile to myself because my baby still needed me. At least for today. So between sending Alex to school today and spending time with Arden, it was kinda the best day ever for me too.

Photos: Top, Arden and Alex posing before Alex's first day of school; Bottom, Arden at the American Girl Store Café .