I found another favorite mug that will go into hiding for a few months (also a present from my sister).
It is lovely having Ember here, though her presence is a hard thing to document due to her aversion to being photographed.
We walked down to her new school on Sunday to find her classroom, but the play yard was still locked up tight, though the sign said it wasn’t. On the way, we passed this message in the window of Zarri’s Delicatessen. It enraged me.
Unbelievable that they lump ethnicity, age, religion and gender with vaccination status. Those first four (except sometimes for religion) aren’t choices, nor do they have the potential to harm those around them (except sometimes for religion). And since when is enforcement of a health measure “discrimination”? I won’t be setting foot in there again, both on principle and for the sake of my safety. (Their sandwich-makers don’t even wear masks.) My level of tolerance for such willful stupidity is at zero these days. Luckily these fools are in a significant minority around here.
On the way back we stopped into a small toy store where Ember wanted to use some of her Christmas money from her Great Granny (known to the rest of us as “Small”). Em fell in love with a small and very soft owl toy, carrying it around the shop as she scouted for other possibilities, finally settling on a large octopus stuffed animal. After we left, Ember handed me the latter and said, “I got this for you.” She is thoughtful and loving, and I’m so lucky she’s here with me for now.
Speaking of sea creatures… do you remember that social science experiment in the 1960s involving marshmallows and young children? They’d leave a kid alone in an observation room with the instruction that they could either eat the marshmallow in front of them right away, or wait a bit and get two of them? In the end, the experimenters believed that those who delayed gratification tended to manage in life better. Well, guess what? Someone did a similar test with cuttlefish (I can’t tell you why) and found that they have exceptionally good self control which likewise serves them well in their survival.
Sunday night while Emmy and I played lots of Double Canfield and Go Fish, she seemed little concerned about her imminent immersion in the academic world. But after breakfast Monday, the predictable anxiety set in. I wished I could have made it go away, but all I could do was reassure her and cheer her on. I can’t tell you how glad I am that those years are far behind me. There’s not a single aspect that I miss. It’s a challenge even in normal times, but imagine moving to a new town, starting a brand new school midyear, meeting a sea of new kids and staff and adjusting to an ocean of new expectations while navigating a new campus—and all this after nearly two years of distance from other kids. Luckily, we all know that this is the absolute best option for her under the circumstances, but that doesn’t mean her transition will be effortless. But we’ll get through it together.
She is one of the bravest people I know. (So are both of her parents.) I hated walking away once I’d delivered her to her classroom. All day long she stayed at the front of my mind: “She’s in the library now.” “Bet she’s having lunch.” “Two hours left before I get to retrieve her.” I kept my phone in my pocket should the school call, but knew it wouldn’t. While stewing on her behalf, I made her a certificate to give her on her return home.
I paced for most of the last hour of her school day, so eager was I to hear how things went for her, and was there at the gate twenty minutes early. When my little one emerged, face hidden underneath her fake-fur hood, I learned that she liked the teacher a lot and met some nice kids, but felt lost academically all day. A late-afternoon e-mail exchange with her teacher was reassuring that this is all normal.
One of the many things the school does to keep kids safe is to ask every student to participate in weekly Covid testing. Emmy did admirably when I invaded her nose on Sunday with the pre-semester home kit. I trust she’ll get used to these snoutal intrusions.
For the first little bit of her time here, I’m letting her stay in my room before she sets up camp in the spare bedroom. As a result, my sleeping surface has taken on numerous additional new occupants.
And now it’s 6:20 the morning of her second school day and she’s beginning to stir. I’m so happy she’s here.
What a brave and special girl, indeed! Does it surprise you that I, too, was virtually monitoring Ember’s and your day, yesterday? I wonder how many other loving bloggy followers were doing the same? Imagining her experiences, all new, and silently, privately, coaching that little person onward to the unknown? Well done, you two! You are both very fortunate, indeed to have this time, these circumstances to forge memories that will endure through the ages. Or at least decades! Thank you, Eleni and Jason for supporting this venture. True love!
Oh! And I meant to say that Bloggy took front and center this morning. First item read, ahead of Heather Cox Richardson and the NYTimes!
I’m with Syd — and also spent much of the day trying to picture Ember’s re-introduction to school itself –plus her meeting new teachers and fellow st udents. She is a brave girl!
Syd: I love and appreciate your supportive comments. That Em really is a wonderful child and I’m so lucky and happy to have her with me for now. I guess even COVID has its silver linings!
Small: Sorry not to have reported to you before this morning, but the afternoon and evening yesterday were gone before I knew it! I think that’s how it’ll be from here on out. Thank you, too, for your cheerleading from afar!
Thank you, all, for rooting for our collective child!
What a fantastic photo of you and Em’s tiny wee legs (in your big red moose outfit)!
Not surprising about Zarri’s. I remember they used to have anti-abortion signs in their window, back when I was in high school. Yech.
MANY kudos to Ember (and all the Redwines) for getting through her first day! A daunting thing indeed. I hope that it gets easier VERY soon! Love to all.