Well, we’re a couple of weeks into the great public school experiment, and I gotta say it’s tough. Not tough on A – he’s fine. It’s tough on me, which, after all, is what really matters.

Mornings are stressful. In the good old days, we dropped the boys off at the daycare whenever we felt like it. Now we’ve got to have A at school for the 8:30 bell. On mornings when he doesn’t want to have breakfast, get dressed, brush his teeth, or put on his shoes, it’s a little chaotic. (And it’s not a bell, it’s an electronic snippet of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. Cheesy.)

I had no idea how lucky we were that the daycare provided snacks and lunch. Every morning we have to prepare three snacks and a lunch. Not only does the food have to be nut free, but it has to be healthy (no juice, please). I tried to sneak in some apple and cinnamon rice chips, but A was told they weren’t good school snacks. I was sorely tempted to send him in with a deep-fried Mars bar the next day.

Not only can’t I get lunch right, but in the first two weeks I’ve forgotten important events. First we forgot to send A to school with something on his show and tell day. He was not a happy boy that afternoon. Then today we forgot to put his library book in his backpack, leading to further embarrassment that will no doubt plant the seeds of some future social dysfunction. I’m just waiting for the day we forget his lunch and he has to scavenge scraps from the playground.

So, I thought Junior Kindergarten was going to be a big transition for A. It turns out it was a much bigger deal for his parents.