Playing Hookie

I'm sad to say that this is my last week of maternity leave. It has been an amazing 4 months and I'm certain to cherish the memories for a lifetime. Can you tell I'm feeling a bit sentimental about the whole thing?

Today Max was scheduled to have his last drop off play class at the community center. I had signed him up for these in anticipation of the transition to daycare. He's not especially fond of these and has a tough time separating from me since he's become accustomed to my 24/7 presence. He's always fine when I pick him up 2 hours later but plastering on a smile and seeing his face fall as I leave is not something I look forward to.

For today's class Mom had offered to watch Mya so that I could truly have a break. Woo hoo! I quickly brainstormed all the fun shopping I could squeeze in during a 2 hour timespan. Maybe time for a Starbucks break as well? When it came down to it I realized that what I wanted to do more than anything for the 2 hours was to play hookie with Max. We ditched the drop off class and headed to Oaks Park Preschooler Morning. We showed up right at opening and had a blast riding every ride we could in an hour and a half.

You could tell that Max was feeling awfully special to be one-on-one with Mom. Okay, the amusement park might have had something to do with his mood as well. Max will rarely say the word "yes" although he's certainly mastered "no". It was too cute for words to see him nodding his head eagerly as I offered him different rides. "Do you want to ride the frog, buddy?" (nod) "By yourself?" (nod, nod)

Once we finished up at Oaks we went to Dairy Queen for lunch. Max began chanting "ice cream, ice cream!" as we pulled into the parking lot. He's no fool! I made an attempt at a nutritious lunch by ordering him milk and applesauce with his chicken strips. Again, he's no fool, and had a grand ol' time sucking ranch sauce off of the fries he swiped from my tray. Hey, we're here to have fun. Go for it! We shared a hot fudge sundae to top off our fine dining experience.

It was an awesome afternoon and one of the many memories I'll cherish as I return to work. It may not be the ideal situation but it is reality so here we go....gulp...