School's In; September 5 2022

September 7th. It’s only days away, and those of you without kids are wondering: What’s so special about the 7th?

But now that I’ve mentioned kids, it’s dawned on you. School.

My kid’s starting junior kindergarten, and she’s extremely nervous. She has pretty severe separation anxiety – though it’s improved significantly, we’ve been working on it for quite some time – so I made her this doll!

The likeness is uncanny, no? Now she’ll have ‘me’ with her. I plan to surprise her with it on Wednesday morning.

I feel a little guilty for being so excited to send her off. I’m worried, too; she’s going to be so upset (at least initially), and even though she’s had her first Covid vaccine she’s not entirely protected between that and her mask, and who knows what’s going on with monkeypox because the information we’re getting is sparse at best –

Whoo. Okay. Calming down real quick.

On the other hand, my kid has been pretty starved for social contact with others her age. She needs friends. She’s so intensely caring, so eager to help and play and show affection, so I have no doubt she’ll make friends fast. She also loves to learn, so there’s nowhere better for her to be.

I’m glad she won’t be doing virtual learning. She’s too hyperactive to sit in front of a computer screen for that long. She’d be miserable.

There was also a part of me that went a little wild the moment I was allowed to buy school supplies. She has a cute backpack with a window in the front for buttons, a Power Rangers lunch bag, a popper stim pencil case. Kids today have way cooler options available to them.

I’m also weirdly jazzed over the idea of bake sales, school fundraising, things like that. I have a bunch of recipes bookmarked that are nut-free, gluten-free, and vegan, so every kid can be included.

I’ve never done this before. It’s kind of clicking now that this is a new experience for both of us – I’m nervous for that reason, too. This is why I packed my schedule on the first day of school, really, got to keep myself occupied.

Any fellow parents out there with advice for the kid’s first day?

We’ve also got some story time! But that’s not new.

They didn’t need to be told again – they tore apart the bread piece by piece, stuffing their mouth full and barely chewing before swallowing it down. Even the act of putting something in their mouth helped sate the burning in their stomach.

The woman brought over a kettle and cup, pouring and adding a cube of sugar.

“Oh,” she murmured. “I didn’t think to ask – it’s fine.”

She slid them the steaming mug. They lifted it instantly, only to be stopped when she made a frantic little noise.

“Let it cool! You’re going to burn yourself.”

They nodded, despondent, and the woman offered another little smile.

“… I’m Inanna.”