Going It Together

     The first week of school for AP was fantastic. She loves her school, her teachers, and her new friends. She especially enjoys riding the bus. So much so that she became concerned she would miss it. This caused her to begin waking an hour or more early to remind me that I needed to get her up in time. When you're already getting up at the crack of dawn you can imagine what time we're talking about.
     I reassured her that she would not miss the bus, that Mommy would remember to wake her. KP arrived home end of the week and after both being woken in the wee hours, assured her that she would not miss the bus.
     Friday morning, I visited a dear friend of mine. She asked me how the first week was going and I mentioned our tiny problem in the midst of an otherwise successful start. She, having a kindergartner herself, suggested her own alarm. She said her son was also anxious about missing the bus and that helped.
     I took note and headed home. We enjoyed a blissful weekend with Daddy home and no bus to miss. Our AP slept in both mornings, allowing everyone to catch up on some well deserved sleep.
Then yesterday afternoon, I told her about the alarm idea. I explained that each morning, one of her favorite music cds would come on when it was time to get up. She was sold.
      It worked! She sleep each morning until her alarm. That first morning she was excited that it worked and said she was able to sleep knowing it would tell her when to get up. And Mama wasn't disturbed.
     This got me thinking about something. In April, KP and I took a trip to New York. My birthday present, it was a weekend spent rekindling my love affair with that amazing city. One thing we tried, on another dear friend's suggestion, was a trip to the Tenement Museum. In Manhattan's Lower East Side, the museum is housed in an actual tenement building from the 19th century. When it was discovered, the curators dug into the history of the building and pieced together actual stories of the immigrants who lived there. KP and I took one of the tours. Listening to the guide, one thing that struck me was the importance of the small yard at the back of the building. The women would gather there to hang their laundry out and would often wind up comparing notes on home making and child rearing, among other things. This became a way of fostering community and support for women who were far from home. And the advice of others helped them to solve problems with their children, in turn making their homes happier ones.
     When I heard this, I thought of the mom's group I attend at my church each week during the school year. We haven't started yet and I find myself missing it so. A place to learn, grow, and off load, I find it an essential part of my children's school year. That room is our tenement building backyard. In a culture that tells us you can do anything, it often fails to mention the fact that you can't do it alone.
  These days, the immigrants have fanned out across the country. They married, had children, and did it again. Their descendants are American. They are you and me. And just as before, parents still can't do it alone. They need the support of those around them; those who have gone before, and those who are doing it right alongside them. I am thankful for my community, and chances are if I offer a suggestion to you, it didn't start with me.