I don't want to go

That's twice now I've heard those words from Nate on the mornings when I wake him to go to daycare. I don't know why, but he just wants to stay home when I tell him it's time to go to Kristi's house. Last Friday, it took us almost an hour and a half to convince him that he could not stay home by himself. Thankfully it wasn't nearly as difficult this morning, but it still took us some time to get out of the house.

Of course once we got there, he quickly forgot he didn't want to go in the first place. As we pulled up to Kristi's this morning, he said to me "dad, are you going to come and play with me at Kristi's house?". Well, with an invite like that, how could I possible say no?

So this morning I got to hang out with Nate, Aiden and Vivienne, and play with toy cars and planes and watch them bounce around on the mini trampoline. Everyone shared or took turns, and at one point when they each had a toy car, Nate made sure I had one too. "I go get a car for you dad!", and he did.

After the initial struggle to get him to Kristi's, it was nice to see him enjoying himself there and being part of a larger group. And when it was time for me to go, he ran over to give me a hug and a kiss. Invisible I am not.

Snippets from the walk home from daycare

Fridays after a shift at the cafe, I pick Nate up from daycare and we walk home. This is what he had to say yesterday:-

• on what he did at daycare - "I went to the park and I saw bugs and ants on leaves and ants on tree!"
• on seeing a dog crossing the road - "That's a poodle! Over there, that brown one! That's a poodle!"
• on having a friend over for dinner - "I know Noah! He's my friend!"
• on leaving the parkade under our building - "Shhh! The cars are sleeping. Quiet, don't wake the cars, they're sleeping."

Occassionally, I am not invisible

Most days when I drop Nate off at daycare, he barely bats an eyelid when I say goodbye and go to leave. He's usually playing with some toy or his friends, and will yell 'goodbye!' without even turning his head. It's almost like I'm not even there, invisible, already gone.

This morning, we were running a little late and when we got there they were getting ready to go for their morning walk. I was pulling my shoes on and getting ready to go when he came and snuggled with me and said 'I love you dad.', quite out of the blue. What a nice surprise. But he wasn't done yet.

As Snoopy and I made our way from the house, the kids all emerged and started heading off on their walk. I heard Nate yell 'Goodbye dad!' and then 'Wait, I want to get you a hug!' So I run back over, and he runs up to me and hugs me. As he heads back to the group he says 'I get you a kiss' and comes back and plants one on my mouth. Then he's off again. yelling 'See you later!' as he rejoins the group.

Today, I was not invisible.