Tae Kwon Don't Make Me Come Over There!

This summer we enrolled Asher in Tae Kwon Do.  We thought it would be not only a good physical release for him, but also reinforce the principles of discipline, self-control, and respect that we are trying to teach him.  He is in the 4-6 age group and is the youngest student in his class.  The instructors are very skilled and also quite patient with these little creatures who struggle to "stand on their dot" on the mat.  They come up with creative ways geared toward that young age group to teach the necessary skills.  Asher attends class twice a week and always laughs during class and leaves with a smile on his face, although that is not how we always start class.

Inevitably, and seemingly unavoidably, he either takes a long nap on the days of Tae Kwon Do, which requires me to awaken him prematurely which causes him to be whiny, or he skips his nap altogether which causes him to be whiny.  Are you sensing a trend here?!  Suffice it to say that the preparation for class usually involves tears and a variation of the statement, "I don't want to go to Tae Kwon Do!" said as loudly as possible.  His uniform is "scratchy" or his belt is too tight.  He can never find the exact water bottle that he needs to take to class that day. The list goes on.  

By the time I get all four children loaded in the truck, my patience is pretty thin and my nerves are just about shot.  Then we get to sit and watch Asher, which is always entertaining, but never void of its own challenges.  Class always conflicts with Eva's nursing time, no matter how much I try to plan her schedule around it.  I can't nurse her during class for a couple of reasons: 1) Class is only 30 minutes long and that isn't enough time for my little poky eater  2) I have to be able and ready to chase Frankie at any given moment and breastfeeding doesn't lend itself to chasing a toddler around a public place.  I have tried to bring a bottle of milk and have Soph feed Eva while I hold Frankie, but that didn't turn out well either.  So now I have taken to hiring our babysitter to come while I take Asher to Tae Kwon Do (as if the classes weren't expensive enough, I have to add childcare into the cost!)

At the end of class, the students receive a star sticker, sometimes two if they did very well.  The instructor puts the stickers on the children's uniform, hand, cheek, etc.  When they have earned 15 stickers, they receive a patch to put on their uniform.  Asher always wants to keep his sticker, although I encourage him to give it to me so it doesn't get lost.  If he insists on keeping it/them until we get home (two mile drive), it is never recoverable! Where do these darn stickers go?!  I swear to goodness that they disappear!  This infuriates me to no end, although I don't really know why I care.  I am pretty sure that my compromised mental state from the preparatory activities prior to class and the disconcerting experience of sitting through class with a wild child and a crying infant have something to do with my annoyance.  But really, if Asher could care less, why do I care?!

So, today I vow to remain calm, enjoy watching him in class as much as he enjoys being there and not freak out over the status of the star sticker.  Sounds easy enough.  We'll see!