Deadline! March 25, 2011

Hudson,

Today was the deadline to accept or reject the schools that offered you a place. This has been the most stressful week! I have been so anxious. All I want is to put you in the right school for YOU and to give you the best opportunity to flourish. This is what Daddy and I both want and that is why we chose St. Alcuin Montessori School. This was not an easy decision, well not for me. Daddy has been much more calm and was impressed with St. Alcuin from the beginning.

I have worn myself out. I have exhausted every avenue - hours of Internet research, phone calls to moms who have children that already attended there, calls to the heads of three different private schools and other things that I won't bore you with. It's about all I have thought of since we got your acceptance letters. I think I have driven Daddy crazy. One thing is for sure - Daddy and I are so very proud of you. You are only three and you already have many doors opening - you were accepted to St. Alcuin Montessori, Episcopal School of Dallas, and The Lamplighter School three exceptional schools. WE'RE so truly proud of you Hudson! Again, we thought you would get into one school, not all three. There was also another school, Meadowbrook (you have been on the waiting list there since you were 8 months old). I loved it and I talked to the head mistress there a few days ago. She said she may have a spot for you, but I I decided not to pursuit it because we have too many options and I was already going nuts. Options are amazing, but can be agonizing. We would rather be having this "problem" than the opposite. However, I will say it again, if you didn't get into any schools, we would have been just as proud of you.

I have agonized over this decision, because you are my heartbeat. I want the very best for YOU - not for me and Daddy or for what society says is best, but for Hudson Squires. I want you to go to the school that will nourish you, make you a better person and take you to the next level. We truly feel for your personality, Montessori is right. We had to just jump and trust our intutions. It was hard to say no to the other schools, and a school such as Lamplighter is very coveted here in Dallas. Many parents try everything in their power to get their children accepted to this school. Honestly, we want different for you. I don't want you to go where all the Highland Park people go. I don't want you to go to school with only rich, white kids (ESD seems that way), because these schools are NOT a microcosm of the world. The world is global and small and we must be open to other cultures and languages. This is the only smart way to teach your children in my humble opinion. St Alcuin offers you more culture and diversity and that is one of the number one things I want for you.

This is going to be a change for our whole family and it is going to be hard, but we know it will be good, or we hope! We are going to have to get up earlier. You will have school everyday from 8 am to 11:45 am - whoa, everyday! I am not sure I am ready, but what I do, I do for you. I had to hand deliver the papers to St. Alcuin today and I was almost shaking and I almost cried. It was such a big moment and a big deal. I have been working on schools since you were five months old so this was a very big decision. MY BABY, that's what you are, and that was a hard moment, but a good one. If you ever start to take your education for granted, you read this post. You need to know how much thought went into your schooling and hard hard I worked to get you where we felt you needed to be. Knowledge is power and education is paramount.

What we want for you is to respect others, to be open to other cultures, to work well with others, to think for yourself and to be a leader, and from what we can see, that's what Montessori school is all about. This is a mysterious road for all three of us and we are going to travel down it together.

I love you my little Montessori boy,

Mamma