The New Drop Off

Fans, Our Hero has been struggling when we drop him off at school. He cries and clings to one of us (of late, usually Ted). We have been peeling him off and beating as hasty a retreat as we can, and we know that he has stopped crying and wailing probably even before we've reached the main door at the end of the hallway, but we were at a loss as to what to do to eliminate the crying and wailing entirely. Recently, it seemed he'd moved past this behavior, but then it was resurgent. Was it that he didn't feel well? Was it that he was playing us? A little of both and something else, too, maybe?

Monday, Joe's teacher, Maneesha (or Ms. Maneesha Fox, as Joe would say), called Julie at work and suggested a plan that would play on Our Hero's love of books (MsManeesha Fox is fabulous). The plan is that before leaving home, Joe selects one book, and if he walks into his room with a big smile on his face, MsManeeshaFox will read it to him right away. (A bonus sidelight of this plan unknown to MsManeehsaFox is that Joe loves to have his name written on the items brought to school.) Yesterday, we executed the plan for the first time. There was a fraught moment when MsManeeshaFox was coming out of Joe's room to deliver her Secret Santa gift as we were headed in (How would she see Joe's big smile and read the book right away?!), but Joe rolled with it. We accompanied MsManeeshaFox on her first delivery and then headed to Joe's room and waited for her in "the library." She came, we left, Joe smiled, and we did, too!