My son returned to school after winter break today; it was perhaps more of a shock for me than for him. Somehow, the little three-minute chat session with various parents before school starts, and again before the kids are released in the afternoon, is always both a mildly pleasurable and mildly uncomfortable experience. No one knows what to say, and therefore we all launch into inane remarks about the weather, about what we did during the break, about this and that...today, I felt both genuine happiness at seeing other adults again besides my husband, and genuine discomfort...I know that other parents experience these feelings--and many of the ones who are chatting away with ease are actually thinking, "why do I have to submit to the chit-chat routine? Can't I just sit in a corner of the waiting area, drink my coffee and check emails on my smart phone?"
In spite of it all, I often end up engaging in fairly substantive conversations with the other parents, in spite of their brevity, and in spite of the somewhat forced (involuntary) quality of our connection ...however, if it's pickup time, my son usually pulls on my arm to steer me toward the car just at the point when the conversation with the other parent is getting interesting. For which behavior, I don't really blame him. Who wants to stand there, right after school, while his mom blabs away with another mom?
I've never been good at being natural during any sort of transition moment. But I've got at least another couple years of this dropoff-and-pickup routine...better start doing it more gracefully, if possible.
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