Poor Little L--

Poor Little L-- is having a hard week.

This little girl, nearly 4 years old, have proven herself quite flexible and resilient in many ways. She travels well, easily handling new beds every night and happy to entertain herself on trains and airplanes. She doesn't need a routine, and can sleep in if she stays up late or skip a nap if she needs to. She gets excited about new playgrounds, new parks, new books and new libraries.

But new friends is another matter.

And Poor Little L-- is stuck in a particularly difficult week for a her who doesn't enjoy making new friends.

She had a wonderful year at school last year. She was a Wonder Center kid, and she loved it. She loved all of the teachers. She loved the other kids in her class. She had good friends there, who all left town the day after school finished. I promised her all summer that those friends would return in August, and that she could play with them until her new school starts. This made the new school much more palatable.

Her friends have all returned. But her friends all live a good drive away, and her friends are all struggling with jet lag. Her friends all begin school - at a different new school from her new school - tomorrow. L-- doesn't begin school until Thursday. Even worse, her sister begins at her new school tomorrow, too. So L-- faces a week without her good friends and without her sister.

This would be sad for L--, but nothing more. She enjoys playing at home, and she can entertain herself quite well. What makes this particularly bad is the anticipation.

We talked up her new school all summer. Every so often we'd mention how both of the girls get to go to a new school this fall. Tiny Tots sounds like a fun place, and we're sure that there'll be plenty of supernice teachers and loads of new friends to play with. Everyone was excited. S-- is still excited. That girl has nerves of steel. But as we reached the 1-week mark, L-- would say, I'm excited, and a little nervous. As we reached the 6-day mark, L-- would say, I'd reallly like to play with my Wonder Center friends. As we reached the 5-day mark, L-- began saying she feels sick, although no symptoms would manifest. Last night, she developed a high fever and had trouble sleeping. I fear this is going to get worse as we get closer, poor girl. Moving every 2-4 years may be a difficult life for this child.