Starting middle school
Me: Are you excited for tomorrow? Or scared?
Him: Excited and…a little scared? Is that normal?
Me: Dude, it’d be weird if you weren’t excited and a little scared.
We unlocked a new level last week when the kid went to middle school last week.
The thing about middle school is that I remember it so well.
I don’t remember a lotta things for a million different reasons, particularly because my youth was in the 70s and 80s. Middle school for me was from the early-to-mid-80s.
Read somewhere once that periods of high emotion imprint memories and middle school is nuthin if not high emotions.
That’s why, I suppose, I remember so much of it and why I’m so shocked that we’re here – my kid seems too young to be starting middle school.
But, of course, he isn’t.
MTA, Sara’s kid, has been going to the same middle school as my kid for the past two years.
It’s the first time that the two of them were in the same school.
The next morning, I got up at 6AM because I was so excited.
Son: You’re up?! Why are you up?!
Me: I was too excited!
Him: Because I’m starting middle school today?
Me: What else?!
I made him a heart attack wrap but with avocados and spam to start things off.
MTA took the lead and showed him where to wait for the bus.
Him: It’s always late. If it’s not here by 8:10AM, we gotta start walking.
When we got aboard, we ran into one of the kid’s classmates from his old school, so that certainly helped matters.
Sara and I chatted with his friend’s father, Makoto, for a bit before we arrived at the school.
The bus was absolutely PACKED with loud kids.
Me: Do you know what I remembered?
Her: No, what?
Me: I hate kids that aren’t mine. (pause) Or yours. Or his. (motioning to Makoto).
Her: Good catch.
When we dropped him off, he was too busy talking to friends from his old elementary school and new kids he met from the picnic I threw.
I barely had time to talk to him before he disappeared into his school.
And then he was gone.
Sara, Makoto and I then started walking home when Makoto caught the bus back and I walked Sara to her subway station.
Along the way, we passed by my old law school…
Me: I cannot believe I was here 30 years ago. That’s insane. Wait, this is the law school now?
Her: Yup! And the law school became the business school.
Me: Man…everything is different.
…and Sara made a new friend.
I walked Sara to Columbus Circle where she took the train downtown and I did the same uptown.
I walked into my now empty apartment and sat down for a bit before pouring myself some coffee.
Middle school, Alison, I said, can you believe it? Our kid is in middle school. You’d be so proud, honey. I was…
No one answered, which is probably for the best.
Location: the studio, strangling Chad again
Mood: nostalgic
Music: We knew when we left home that we’ll wind up down along the road (Spotify)
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