But there were signs

It was a sad day and a day that turned into a day of fretting for a young mother whose little girl was away all day at kindergarten. Why? Was the mom worried how the little girl was doing at school? Did she wonder if she’d like her new teacher or make new friends? No. No. And no.

This is a story about my mom, an Enneagram 2 and me, a type 7. Of course, neither of us had any idea what the Enneagram was back in 1963 but the signs were everywhere. (They always are, if you’re looking.)

I wanted to go to school from the time I learned there was such a thing. My mom had to tell me, repeatedly, that I wasn’t quite old enough but that one day I would be. Finally, she had the perfect solution to quell my incessant questioning. She said…”when you turn 5 years old you can go to school.” So, on July 10th, the day I turned 5, I woke up so excited, knowing this was the day I would go to school!

It was not the day I went to school. I would have to wait until September, an eternity away. My little anticipatory heart was broken.

But the day did arrive and I made friends with everyone in class, except snotty Toddy because….ewww. I loved my teacher, Miss Halapaska, whose name I remember to this day because it sounds like ‘jalapeño’. School was everything I had dreamt and more. I loved school!