First day (before)

Nerves were running high. School didn't start until 11, so we tried to sleep in and laze about at home, but realized quickly that unscheduled time was contributing to the anxiety rather than relieving it. We decided to engage in a little retail therapy and hit up the papelería to buy the requisite school supplies, even though we knew they would not all be needed on the first day. We still had time for a hot chocolate before heading through the gates. The kids lined up in the playground by grade. Cy walked in with Eva and the other 5th graders. Charlotte trailed in with the 6th graders. Both were amazingly brave - not using that word lightly - and put their best faces onto a situation neither asked for. It was a proud parent moment, knowing how difficult it was for both of them in their own ways. It's the first time since kindergarten that they have started the school year in an unfamiliar place and without their usual phalanx of friends. Parents do not accompany their kids to the classrooms here, so we did not get to meet their teachers. We are anxious at home too ... pickup is at 2p.