Sent Home with a Note.

Today was bible study day again. (These days always seem so eventful for some reason). After study I headed down to the preschool area and decided to grab Rylie first. Before I could even locate Rylie one of his teachers handed me a folded note. Yikes, what is this? What did he do now? was all I could think. I thought it was weird she didn't say anything, but I didn't want to embarrass myself or my child in front of some of the other parents so I decided to read it as I walked to the car. I figured if it was something that warranted further discussion I could make the trip back into the church. Here's the note:

Dear Mrs. Pugh,
I just wanted to tell you what a joy it has been to work with your son, Rylie. He listens so well. He even does things like put things up without being told! He is a happy, fun kid to play with. So, if you guys ever want a babysitter, let me know! I would really enjoy watching him sometime.
Sincerely,
Rylie's Sweet Teacher (Of course she signed her name here).

Wow! Rylie's first note home...and it was a good note. Now I realize she may just be trying to line up a few babysitting jobs, but she still said a lot of great things about my little guy. It's a huge relief to know that he is well-behaved while in other people's care.
I've always been hard on him and his behavior until just recently. Don't get me wrong I still watch him very closely when we are playing with others, but I've recently learned that ALL boys are "too wild," not just my boy. ALL boys are going to at some point hit, kick, punch, push...it's just going to happen. We never want it to happen, but it's something we will have to deal with as parents of boys, and even some girls.
A little over a year ago Rylie injured a little girl pretty badly by biting her on the cheek. There was blood, antibiotics, and (if I remember correctly) stitches involved. It was ugly. One of the worst parts of the situation was that we were new to the area and this was our first time to visit the Mommy playgroup through our new church. I was horrified about what happened and purposely kept my distance from all of those moms for a long while. I certainly didn't feel accepted and I was very humiliated by my son's actions. Thankfully through a lot of prayer and many understanding mommy-friends I've been able to deal with my issues that speared from that incident.
Still, it was a monumental day for the Pugh family. There were many tears shed over the bite and to-this-day it looms in my mind when we are gathering for a play date of any type. It has been very crippling for me, as well as Rylie. However, things such as the note above help remind me that I do have a wonderful child. He is very happy, funny, respectful and lovable (just to name a few). I'll take the bad with the good and know that I am doing the best I can with what I have to work with. So thank you to Rylie's sweet teacher for that very important reminder! I love my little man...even when he is "too wild."

The other part of this story that is so awesome...is answered prayer. Just a few short days ago I decided I was going to start praying for God to provide a babysitter for us. We don't need a sitter too ofter, but sometimes there are things we'd like to go and do without children and since I've only ever left my children with my parents (who both live a good distance from here) we always have to pass. So, praise God for providing this small need in our lives. I've always been told God cares about our small needs just as He does our large needs...and this is proof of such.