Yesterday, Cashel … my dear brave nephew … started a new school. He is seven. He has had a rocky road. But yesterday, he faced his fears, and walked into a new school. His mother said she peeked into the room as he sat down at his little desk, surrounded by strangers, and he sat there, with himself, and then he took a deep sighing shaky breath, in and out, getting ready for the day. SO BRAVE.
Apparently, he did very well. He made three new friends – they all invited him to do stuff with them. (I love these little boys DEARLY for that reason alone).
One invited Cashel to play “hotshot”.
“Hey, Cashel, wanna play hot shot?”
Cashel had no idea what “hotshot” was. A video game? A gameboy extravaganza? But he said (being brave), “Sure.”
Turns out that the kid had said “hopscotch”. Cashel had never heard of it.
I am so glad that hopscotch is alive and well on playgrounds in America.
My dearest Cashel, my brave boy, meeting new people, facing his fears. HEART-CRACK!!
oh, the little punkin-doodle!! My own nephew, JT, starts a new kindergarten class on Monday, as Meredith and her family are moving back to RI. I feel nervous FOR him, Cashel, and all the other “new kids” in the world. PS Kickball is also alive and well with those red rubber balls. Hands down THE most popular game of the third through fifth grade crowd…
I can dig it. My nephew Ryan is 8 and a few weeks ago, he was telling me about some little kid at school who acted like a jerk to him. He’s like a little serious man. Then, without warning, he finishes his tale of woe, stands up and makes a rocket noise and does some flying superhero thing. And I’m like, “what the hell am I worried about?”
Hey sheil..how u feeling?-MJF
My Alex is seven, and for biological reasons I KNOW but cannot PROVE, boys seem to make friends easier than girls do at that age. As long as Cashel is willing to play with them, he’s in.
Good luck to him, and to you, sweet auntie. You’re in for many more heart cracks.
Popskull:
HA! I love that!! It’s great when you can catch yourself kind of projecting your own anxieties onto a kid … but then, in a flash, they prove that you have nothing to worry about.
MJF:
Hey, love … sorry about my phone crapping out last night.
I’m going to the doctor today. I’m not getting better.
Great to talk with you last night, dear. Just posted, again, that piece I wrote about “the very special teacher”.
Oh, by the way, Alex’s class has a state a week in their spelling words. This week? Rhode Island!
I believe they call that a shout-out.