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Last week was Simone’s first week of full school days.
It’s sort of brilliant how her school phased in new kids slowly, starting with 45 minutes the first day, then an hour and a half, building trust and familiarity slowly. By the time she was ready to be there for a full school day, she was a pro. The first few mornings she full body sobbed and clung to me at drop-off, but by week two, she gave me a big smile and walked into the classroom on her own two feet. She didn’t even turn around to wave goodbye.
The only one crying was me.
Simone’s one of the youngest in her class, which officially starts at 18 months. (She’s 17 months old and change). A little girl exclaimed, “Hi, Simone!” as I walked her to the door, and I felt my heart swell for my pandemic baby: her first friends! She’s spent so much of her life with just us at home. Her world is getting so much bigger.
I wrote about the weirdness of this Covid back-to-school season over at Parent.com, but this is double (triple?) weird for us: Covid times, new town, new school, and so many firsts.
Tony and I went to our first back to school night a few days ago, which was really just “to school” since this is our first school rodeo as a family. We gathered outside, socially distanced, and everyone had to almost-shout to be heard, but it was still a lovely night. We felt welcomed, the other parents felt like potential friends, and the teachers seemed brilliant. It made me feel extra confident that Simone is in truly amazing hands.
I’m also learning how to do the whole school parent thing. On Simone’s first full day, I forgot to bring her a fitted crib sheet for naptime—actually, I had no idea this was something she would need. Our extras are in Brooklyn. I frantically ordered some on Amazon, along with a pretty long list of things Simone is supposed to have for school, from a lunchbox to special Montessori slippers to rainboots for playing outside on wet days.
I have weird anxiety packing her lunch—is it a good enough lunch? Will the teachers judge that she eats so much cheese and hummus (her two favorite foods?). How am I supposed to think of quality lunches and snacks every single day?
Meanwhile, Simone is thriving. She’s learning new skills (like sweeping!) and seems to have entered a whole new phase of toddlerhood where she understands and participates so much more. It’s incredible to watch her grow every day, to observe her little brain figure things out and discover her world.
We’re all learning.
We’re all so lucky.
xo,
H
PS SELF published an excerpt of Plenty, which you can read over here!
PPS I wrote about my favorite non-alcoholic beers over at Saveur. So many good ones.
PPS Tomorrow, I’m going to be on Food Travel Talk TV, talking about the resiliency of women in the food industry. It’s online and free, and you can register here!
Simone in action at school