today begins our first summer vacation

the three and four/five year old classes merged for one pre-k-spacular spring concert/graduation 'with treats after' this morning.

some refer to our little mayberry town as a bedroom community. with the closest target a full hour away, i do not know how big they consider the house. seems our sleepy little village of 500 is more liken to an old pop-up camper out in the backyard. there's nothing wrong with camping, but mayberry-style there are few modern amenities. access to running water. toilet paper.

the kids performed at the community hall which is one big room with stage up and one big room with kitchen down. the 6 steps down sport a lift. it's old, taped together, the door is rumored to lock shut when you want off, and caleb hit a button while i was boarding. we nearly escaped catastrophe at goob's reception. so not child-proof. the full flight up has a dual entrance. from the north and south are two cases of steps meeting at a little square landing that make for a grand circle run up and down and around for the little kids. quite parent-proof. not as much joy for a wheelchair. funny how the easy 6 steps down have a lift, and yet up... testimony to mayberry's values: food above show.

vern carried me up to the see the kids sing about peanut butter and jelly and the senior pre-k class graduate with gown and paper cap. i also got my share of cake since we each - grandma, vern, myself and caleb - all got a dessert for maddy. vern. his back is our biggest blessing. i really should have thanked it by forcing grandma to eat maddy's overage.

it was a fantastic end to the year. caleb has learned what things are girl things, instructed us that he does not need to count past eleven - the number of kids in his class, renamed locomotives 'choo-choos', found his singing voice, and rhymes. it was exactly as we had hoped for his first year of social training. maybe a little less on the girl things, though - that has foiled any attempt at watching 'the little mermaid'.

i was so excited for the pre-school's open house last august. seems i even put on some make-up. the chance to meet other moms. to go in and help out at halloween and Christmas parties. to catch glimpses of caleb's life outside us - the budding social networks, snacks, projects, kid-isms. a little sad at how time was passing, excited to see around the corner of toddlerdom, and encouraged that with caleb's growing up would too be my in to the what and who and where around here. vern's from mayberry. his parents, siblings, siblings' spouses, siblings' spouses' parents, siblings' spouses' siblings... cousins. anyone not related went to school with someone who is. i'm not from here. that means everyone knows me, thinks i know them and introductions are rare.

when we moved here eight years ago i ran into the post office and locked the keys inside the running tahoe. in the rain. word of this got to my in-laws before noon that day. a year later and some mayberrians would still greet me at the postmaster's door "do you have your keys?" and chuckle along. me never knowing if it was the old school superintendent or farmer who ran the ground to the north of the farm before moving into town or... i believe that's why our postmaster bob took pity on me even though our senders never remember to correctly address mail to our po box. my great-aunts, on-line businesses and the federal government have a thing for using our street address instead - breaking postmaster bob's cardinal law of which he never fails to stamp or give hand-written reminders.

so for my great pre-k-spectations. we pull into the drive and see the pre-school, a large addition to the back of the director's house, is two stories with a split-level entrance. stairs up to go in, stairs down to his class. sets of families pouring in and out. no lift. just the sight set my eyes on fire. me and my bladder were way-pregnant and not up to vern carrying me in for the meet-and-greets. i sat outside. there would be no perks for caleb's mom. no networking. no special party days. no crafts, treats or kid-isms. life outside us for caleb would be void any interaction with his newly anointed s(tuck)ahm.

vern bussed maddy and caleb up and in. i pushed myself back to the passenger side of the tahoe, thanked my luck for vern having parked at the edge of the commotion and faced the bean field hoping my luck would hold and no one would notice me. crying. the more i tried to not, i did. i should have expected it. this is mayberry. the k-12 building is an old two-story relic herself and i have to go around the building just to get into the gymnasium. we're lucky to have a pre-school, much less expect it be up to some public code. still. i was completely caught off-guard.

that was hard.

in march the director decided to go back to nursing after ten years with the pre-k crowd. her fellow teacher will be carrying on the pre-school, "insert name 2", next fall. i've only met her once before - at goob's reception last week when i returned her wave thinking she merely relation or classmate of until caleb cried out "cindy!" and she came over, bent down to smile at owen and told me. in the house they are actively converting into the pre-school, she informed her husband the first order of business was to install a ramp.

i am over the moon. no more newsletters home thanking the parents who helped at x/y/z that did not include me. a few more days like today. when the only other mom i recognized came over with playdate offers finally putting me with caleb with vern's parents who brought him to and fro each day. confessing she felt lost with all these parents who knew each other from when they were in pre-school together, and her not being from around here. "we started brandon a couple weeks late. did they have an open house? i feel like i missed so much not meeting the other parents there! we never got to a good start." handily, her son and mine are good mates. her husband is vern's classmate and town electrician who rewired our house, also the cousin of our dear friend. so. i know a lot more about her than she might suspect. before i sound too towny, i might add she and hers were the only ones i knew. later vern spoke at length with his brother about all the characters present that went well over my head or observance...but that's where i go off on another tangent beyond my excitement for more days like today without requiring vern or his back as (pause for a breath) i was eating maddy's third portion of cake, caleb suddenly turned to me and said, "you know the best part of today! you won't ask me what i did when we get home! because you are here!"

otherwise known as a school year of: "what was for snack today?" "bunnies." "you ate bunnies, huh?" "yup." "and what were the bunnies made of?" "bunny stuff."