Defenders of the Chair

Samantha has been sick all weekend. The last five days included suctioning, copious amounts of Vicks vapor rub, calls to TCH and finally.....antibiotics. This morning I found her awake, smiley and significantly less snotty. Therefore, Mean Mommy packed her up and headed off to preschool.

I always worry about taking Samantha on days like this; days when she is not 100%. I weigh the pros and cons of a school day and keep my cell phone close. If she only attended on 100% days, she would be missing quite a lot of school.

So we take our chances.

I carried Samantha into the classroom and was immediately greeted by one of her friends. "Samantha! Samantha's here! Samantha!"

Wow, well that just made my day! The kiddos helped to get Samantha settled; helped with her coat....everything seemed just ducky and I got ready to go.

Samantha has a chair that we keep at school. She's getting bigger so we need to have it refitted. On my way out, I casually grabbed her chair to take it home.

Oh no.....

Samantha's friend stood in front of me, hands on his little hips, staring intently.

"That's Samantha's chair!"

"I know Sweetie. But I need to take it home to fix it. I'll bring it back for her. Is that okay?"

He shook his head no.

"Hey!" Another little guy joined in, "That chair is for Samantha!"

I was suddenly surrounded by tiny tikes slightly taller than my knee and very unhappy that I was taking Samantha's chair.

With a little coaxing and a lot of promising that I would bring it back, I was allowed to leave.

Whew! Adamant three-years can be a little overwhelming!

With the events of Deer Creek fresh in my mind, I worry about Samantha protecting herself. It is wonderful to know that she has friends who come to her defense.....three year olds who come to her defense.....her mother-can't-even-get-her-chair-out-of-the-classroom defense.

I wouldn't want it any other way.