Schoolkid Start

Eris started kindergarten this week, and seems to be enjoying it so far. Though the transition seems to be having some of the usual usual ups and downs. The anticipatory anxiety about leaving the current routine behind, followed by excitement at celebrations and the novelty of new activities and new friends, then a dip down into missing what was left behind when the novelty wears off a hair and it hits you that the old routine is truly gone.

I feel pretty good, but I'm still struck by the enormity of the occasion. In some ways, it's the most significant transition since Erica entered daycare at the age of three months. (In other ways, that would be the start of the pandemic in 2020, but in some ways not, after all she went back to the same daycare after the initial closure, and that's an external emergency, not a life milestone.)

The school has already had their first two COVID cases (from one household). We will see how their containment plan goes. Going to be an exciting year. :-/

I wrote an email saying hi to my host mom for the first time in a long while. The last time might have been after Erica was born. I haven't really been staying in touch, obviously, but I should more. Though my Japanese language skills have atrophied. (Isamu-san has been following me on Facebook, though, so maybe Kyoko-san has been keeping up with us through that, too?)

I'm still very exhausted. There's a lot of stuff kid wants me to handle personally, and she's very stubborn about it. Julie is very tired, too.