FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
Fri., August 27, 04:21 PM
Sorry, guys, this feels so out of place. School should not start before Labor Day. In a better world, it would not start until after Rosh Hashana. (Maybe that’s a post for another day.)
Do you remember your first day of school? Was it pre-school or kindergarten or first grade? Did you cry? I didn’t. I was astounded that anyone would cry. The neighbor mothers were all telling their kids, “Look at H—, she’s not crying.” One of the girls made such a scene her mother had to take her home…and she was just as bad the next day. A mystery to me.
It’s all in the preparation, y’know. My mother talked about it. I already knew how to print my name in block letters, but she showed me how the teacher would write my name. I tried very hard to copy what she showed me (so ambitious, back in the day), and she was astounded. “Look, she printed her name.” Even at that age, I knew that learning was an adventure.
My little brother, of course, was gregarious and, besides, he knew I had survived kindergarten. Our sister, on the other hand — the Baby Boomer — put on a show like my old friend from kindergarten. My mother couldn’t leave until the kids got caught up in a singing game, and then mom sneaked out.
My kids didn’t cry either. I was talking about how exciting school would be for at least a month before U.D. went into kindergarten. We had been to the school before — she and I as well as the two little ones — when I registered her. I was proud that she knew how to talk with adults and answer questions properly.
The kids’ school had a practice that worked well; they lined up the kids outside. Everyone was hanging out in front of the school until the teacher came out and called the kindergarteners to get in line. U.D. had been talking to people and singing songs until then; suddenly, “I’m shy!” “No, you’re not,” I told her, and she got into line with the others. Never a problem after that.
The school was three quarters of a mile from home — a mile and a half walk twice a day for me, for it would be another four years before I learned to drive. I had a stroller that would hold two kids, though M.D. often got out and walked. Everyone at the school knew my kids, and they seldom caused me any trouble about going. (It was understood that, when the weather was bad, they would be absent.)
Before you ask why they weren’t in pre-school, realize it was a catch-22. Pre-school is wonderful if Mother wants to work, even at a part-time job. It is also expensive, so Mother needs a salary. I needed the job first, of course, (for the money) but still couldn’t leave the kids… I also learned that the options were few in a community like ours, where most mothers did not work. The grandmothers lived nearby, in the same houses where the moms had grown up. In addition — talk about frustration — there was no reliable bus service. So I had to be my own pre-school; after all, I had a class of three.
Life is both easier and harder for my daughter-in-law and son, for Ms. P. had a fine position before they married, and she still holds it. The family leave laws gave her time to recuperate and to bond with the baby, but I imagine that makes it harder to return to work, no matter how much you like your job.
After three months, the Adorable Ms. Lila was in day care regularly. They loved her there, and she developed rapidly. There’s nothing like other kids to encourage a little one, and she “graduated” to the higher levels quickly. She was walking at nine months and speaks in sentences now, though she won’t turn two for another month.
In a new house in a new town, Lila is in a new pre-school too. Baby Charlotte “goes to school” as well. I am so looking forward to seeing them. I think they deserve a few days off with Bubbe.
