My wife told the Dev today what school he’ll be going to in the fall. I wanted to be around for that conversation, but I was glad she initiated it. Luckily I’m the only person who knows how to get on the new computer, so I was able to show Dev the website for his new school when I got home from work. With registration and and orientation coming in the next few weeks we kind of had no choice but to pull the proverbial trigger and tell the kid what the future holds.

She told him that the school will be in Manhattan, which he loved, and that he’d be starting in September. (Yes that means another?miserable commute – all for the love of the kid. We’re ready though. We did four years of interborough schooling and care and we can do it again.) She also mentioned the activities that they promise like swimming and skating. He marvelled?at the idea of “public school,” while his parents marvelled at the fact that he got into the school in the first pace. Lots of people apply. Few people get in. And it was high on the list of places we wanted him to land in the Fall.?Personally, I’m counting the days until I can start saving again?given?that?we’ve been paying the?market rate since we moved our kid his current school. Not that I have a bad thing to say about his current school. We still adore it and everyone in it. The fact that he calls us “home skillet”?and that?he learned?the phrase?in school only adds to?its charm.

Dev was of course full?of questions about the new Manhattan school. He asked who his new friends will be and who his teacher will be. My wife gave him suitable, but obviously vague answers to both questions, though she let him know that we would likley meet some of them (at least the teacher) at orientation. He also asked if there would be a bathroom in the classroom – the kid can really appreciate convenience and cleanliness. Overall he seems OK, even pleased,?with the idea of going to kindergarten. That’s a relief for any parent thisclose to starting the long winding road through public school.

The fact is that we dread telling our son things of this magnitude. We?build up this anxiety about what he might say. We?wonder if he’s going to?cry, or get upset, or just try?to talk us out of it. But the reality is that he’s not the?same kid he was a year ago. At his core he’s still the Dev, but better,?somehow wiser. He’s?become Dev 2.0. His joy is?contagious, and his energy is like nothing I’ve ever felt before. He understands now that life is full of changes and new experiences, and many of them can be great if you allow them to be. He knows nothing of what-ifs or regrets. He only know hows to live and love and enjoy every minute. So many of us can learn from the way a five year old revels in life.

Me, I’m taking notes as Professor Dev?gives lecture.