A world of difference

Meghan recently started 3rd grade. 3rd grade! I am old enough to have a 3rd grader! OK yeah, because, clearly, this is all about me.

No, I'm not stressing about turning 40 in 4 months. Why are you looking at me like that?

Anyway. No one gave me the 3rd grade handbook (actually, her school did give me a handbook, which I read from cover to cover - total pageturner), so I did not realize until this morning that I have been somewhat hampering/stifling her social life. In 3rd grade, your parents do not walk you onto the 3rd grade playground. You walk yourself, foo!

Duh. The signs were there but, because my relationship with Meghan is rather unorthodox, the lightbulb did not appear above my head until today. See, as she gets older, Meghan and I get closer and closer. I know that it's usually the other way around, but Meg's an unusual girl, so this doesn't surprise me at all. We're sorta like The Gilmore Girls: The First Decade. I am quite appreciative of this, and I've worked really hard at getting to this point with her, so I am unabashedly happy about it.

Apparently, so is Meghan. She still wants me to hold her hand on the playground, and hug her goodbye, and stay with her until school starts. But I have received the stink eye from no less than 457 children in grades 3-5. And their body language says, "Uhm. You DO realize you're a parent, right? And you DO realize that we are all ages 8-11, right? And you DO realize that you are totally uncool, right? GET OUT!"

Meg's been attending the same school since Kindergarten. (Man, that school is the absolute shiznit!, but that's another story.) In grades K-2, her classrooms were on the east side of the building, which is quite lovely. There are lots of trees and grass on the east side, and always lots of parents milling about. Parents here, parents there, parents everywhere. But, dude, grades 3-5 are on the west side of the building. Meghan has seemingly graduated from the Will Smith School Of Mainstream Rap/Rap Lite and moved right on over to the Tupac Shakur School of Gangsta. Damn, you think her school would clue the parents in on this kinda crap. Parents need to know this stuff!

On the west side, there are no trees. There is no grass. And there are no parents. No parents!, I am not even kidding. There are always 2 adults present, and they appear to be either teachers or aides, specifically planted there to watch the kids so no one Suspicious Looking comes a-calling. Which I'm sure all the (non-existent) parents appreciate.

But in the place of parents, there are now cliques. And drama. And snippiness. And fashion queens. And boys teasing girls. And running, lots of running. And general immaturity masking itself as maturity, which is how immaturity seems to function in schools, anyway. I get the distinct feeling that middle school is right around the corner, which makes me slightly annoyed and quite worried for Meghan.

Oy. What a world of difference one schoolyear makes.