Old School

On Friday, my friend Sarah called me and told me to check our mailbox. We were at the park and hadn't checked the mail before we left. She explained that her daughter Ada, one of Lucy's best friends, had received a postcard from Mrs. Y. welcoming her to her class this year and she wanted to know if Lucy had received the same card. Lucy couldn't wait to get home. Not only would a postcard mean she and Ada would be in class together, but her 8-year-old friend Sophia had Mrs. Y. in first grade and told Lucy that had to get her, that she is the best teacher and that Mrs. Y. would give her a hug everyday when she left school. When we got home, Lucy ran to the mailbox. She peeked inside and then let out a shout and waved the postcard victoriously over her head yelling, "I'm with Ada! I'm with Ada! And we got the huggy teacher!"

Judging by the crowd at the girls' school when they posted the classroom placement list later that day, classroom placement is important to a lot of families. But after having moved the girls to a different state and, of course, a different school, two years in a row, there was something especially beautiful to me in the joy the girls expressed about being in class with friends. Like Lucy, it turns out that Evie will have some of her best friends in her class. She also got the teacher she had been hoping to get all summer. She too responded by jumping up and down and screaming with delight.

Last week, Evie and a friend giggled and chatted in the back of the car as I drove them to go hiking. Then her friend told Evie that she is feeling sad because she just found out she'll be moving to a different school this year. Evie, instantly serious, turned to her and said, "I know exactly how you feel. That is really, really hard." As a parent, I will never forget Evie coming home from school in Los Angeles and telling me that no one noticed her at recess. And I'll never forget walking home last year, teary and worried at the thought of her experiencing that once again.

On Monday, the girls will enter their classrooms to be greeted by hugs from their friends. And I will walk home from dropping them off, thinking about Lucy waving her postcard in the air.
















Lucy and Ada camping this summer