Hellobee

Preschool! Oh my goodness how did that sneak up so fast? Suddenly we’re back in America and figuring out school acceptances, location, everything. It’s bizarre. I think in Thailand we were up for whatever especially if it was English-speaking or close by, it was pretty sweet and we were grateful. Jujube went to preschool right by the hospital when I was sick and that worked out so well.

Now that we’re back in America we pretty much hold the same views as then, especially at this age. It’s just strange that things are more competitive here. But we got Jujube into a preschool within walking distance (actually viewing distance) from our house! I’m so thrilled to be able to walk her over there. They hold diversity as a value and so we weren’t sure if they’d have space for us, since they initially cap each racial group at 60% to give the classrooms space to diversify by extending the application date. And ours is likely to be the dominant group. I was okay with being excluded from acceptance because of that value because it’s one I hold as well, but they recently opened a new preschool classroom and my walkability restriction made a good case for us too, so I think those things helped and we’re excited! She’ll only be attending for two mornings a week this fall but that kind of socialization is invaluable for her at this point.

My brother and daughter

We have to decide what to do between now and the fall, when Preschool will start. So far it’s going to be okay to have her here with me and our son before the fall, but I know she would benefit from some regular socialization. She loves being with her cousins so that helps a lot, but a regular group dynamic would probably do her well! She also seemed to love the part time set up we had in Thailand and so did I! The bleed took me out of commission for my work but though I’m slow, I am getting there in terms of what I’m capable of. I am eager to start creating again, just as I’m eager for a lot of things – to stop organizing all our stuff, to start getting outside as the weather warms up more and more, to start seeing old friends or making new ones, to start embracing this city once again and putzing around seeing new and old things emerge here.

So we took a tour of this preschool last week, got to ask questions, everything, and it was really cool to see it all in action. I also saw a sticker on one of the posters up in a hallway from my former work in Thailand! The one I was working at when my brain bleed occurred. It was bizarre and beautiful for me – like a little wink of the universe. The old comes alongside the new. Onward!