Schooled

So September was a bit more eventful for me than usual. Aside from the normal start-of-school stuff (which technically took place last month, but the photos fit better here), I decided to try to assuage some of my disappointment over not attending law school with some classes at the local community college. I signed up for French and Arabic classes and took Cora with me the first day without thinking much of it. However, during the class break, the French professor took me aside and said he believed that babies were not permitted in the classroom. I looked into it, found policies suggesting otherwise, and ultimately ended up submitting a petition to change certain ambiguous policies that could create an unnecessary impediment for mothers seeking to further their education. Along the way, I was featured in an article at Today.com, which was pretty cool. I have so many thoughts and feelings about this that I am looking for a new outlet for expressing them, so I won't clog up this blog with all my umbrage on behalf of mothers everywhere.

As we inched toward the end of the month, Aaron pushed me over the edge on which I had been teetering into getting a ticket to my 20 year class reunion . . . wait, what? It was a super-short trip-- airplane ride out on Saturday morning, lunch with friends, get changed, reunion at night, and back to the airport by Sunday afternoon--but it was just what the doctor ordered for me. I scooped Cora along with me, and though there were certain challenges associated with traveling alone with an infant, it was totally worth it. I brought her with me when I went out to lunch with my dear friends, Kristin and Emily, and then left her with my awesome mom and sisters for the evening. There was not enough time to have the conversations I wanted to with everyone! One of the remarkable things to me was really how little people changed, at least on the inside--including myself. Although lives have taken us in different directions, being back among the people who helped form my fundamental character  made me realize that my core has never really changed. I couldn't recount everything if I tried, but I especially enjoyed seeing friends who sang in the Madrigals group with me and the group of people that I used to study and spend weekends with. I could have spent quite a lot more time talking with every one of them. I hope I can make it a better priority to stay in touch with all of them!

On the home front, we had Addy's birthday (but no birthday party yet--I think she's in the process of deciding whether she feels too old for them or not), and she started running with the cross-country team again. I tried to convince Asher to do the same, but he insisted that his primary responsibility is school this year, and he doesn't want to do anything that interferes with his academic excellence. What mom is going to argue with that? Emerson and Sera are both enjoying their classes this year. Emerson's teacher rolled over with his class, so that it's basically the same class as last year--a fact which thrills both him and me. Sera had the option to stay with a class doing the same thing, but decided against it, since she "wants a new experience." She was very pleased to find out that her best friend is in her class this year.

When everyone is home, Cora is just thrilled about it. We've had half the neighborhood jumping on the trampoline in our backyard at various times, and Asher and Addy have been begging to spend time doing homework at friends' houses several times a week--sometimes the answer is yes, and sometimes the answer is no. Sometimes I get the sense that our kids are leaving the nest a little at a time, and while it makes me a little sentimental, it's not a bad thing. I really do hope that we're raising children who will be able to make a way for themselves in the world, and I'm hope that they're as lucky as me in finding good friends to help them navigate their way through it all.