The Anxiety of the First Day of School

My kids started school this week.  Okay, so it was just preschool and they only go for ½ a day two days a week, but for me it was still this big milestone in their lives.

The twins didn’t seem to give the idea of going to school to school a second thought.  But then they have been going to some type of class (gym, art or music) by themselves for more than a year.  And they even went to camp for three hours once a week this summer.

But even so, I got to thinking about the idea of the first day of school.  I remember it being a big point of anxiety for me, but maybe that’s because I grew up a military brat who changed schools quite a bit.  For me, the first day of school each year often meant a new school with new people.  And as a child I was extraordinarily shy.

While I never remember separation anxiety – could be why my kids showed no signs of it – I do remember having butterflies in my stomach and dreading the thought of entering a school where everyone already had their friends established.

But I made it through it.  And apparently my kids did too.  They are lucky in that they got to share this experience with each other.

I remember my first day of school.  I didn’t go to preschool.  My first day was for kindergarten and I had to ride the bus – a really big deal when you are smaller (and younger) than all the other “more experienced” school kids.

I remember standing at the bus stop with my mom waiting for the bus to arrive.  She was telling me how to remember my bus stop so that I could get off in the afternoon.  My bus stop was at the corner of a baseball field.  I was to look for the backstop to know when to get off the bus.

I don’t remember much about that day at school, but I remember the bus ride home.  I sat diligently at the window looking for that backstop.  The idea of missing my bus stop scared me silly.

Then I saw it – the backstop.  I didn’t expect it so soon.  But I got up and got off the bus.  The bus pulled away just as I realized my mom wasn’t there.  Now what do I do.

I’m five.  I’m not allowed to cross a street by myself and here I am at the wrong bus stop.  Who do I go to for help?

While I’m internalizing all this information, the bus has gone on to my correct bus stop a block away.  My mom realized I wasn’t on the bus and realized (I don’t know if another parent or some kids told her) that the previous bus stop also had a baseball field.  And before I know it my mom was there to meet me.

The next day, the parents tied some kind of ribbon to the backstop at my bus stop and I never got off at the wrong bus stop again.

It amazes me that after all these years (really, it hasn’t been that many), that that bus stop tidbit is what I remember about my first day at school.

It wasn’t what outfit I wore or who I met or – God forbid – what I learned that day that stood out.  It was the bus ride.

I wonder what my kids will remember about their first day.  They didn’t ride a bus so that can’t be it.  But I’d love to know what they remember 20 or 30 years from now.

What do you remember from your first day of school?

Fringe Premiere Promises New Hit, Lots of Intrigue

If I only watch one new show this fall, it’ll have to be J.J. Abram’s Fringe.  Last night’s premiere just happened to be my first glimpse into the new fall season and judging from Fringe‘s debut this season should be a good one.

FRINGE: An unlikely trio uncovers a deadly mystery involving a series of unbelievable events and realizes they may be part of a larger, more disturbing pattern that blurs the line between the possible and the impossible on FRINGE premiering Tuesday, Sept. 9 (8:00-9:35 PM ET/PT) this fall on FOX. Pictured L-R: John Noble, Anna Torv, Jasika Nicole and Joshua Jackson ©2008 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Mark Ben Holzberg/FOX

Fox’s new series reminded me of an updated X-Files with a dash of Alias‘ science, Lost‘s intrigue and 24‘s terrorists.  And like the X-files, fans will find that the “truth is out there” and I for one am looking for to the adventure to find it.

But unlike our friends Scully and Mulder, this team isn’t looking for aliens.  Instead they are looking for those behind “The Pattern” – a series of mysterious events that are a result of experiments by ethically challenged scientists dabbling in “fringe” science – science dealing with topics on the fringe of science like genetic mutation, reanimation, mind control, invisibility teleportation and astral projection.

In the opening episode, we see just one of these events when all the passengers and flight crew of Glatterflug Flight 627 (so glad they didn’t use Oceanic, but what is it that Abrams has against planes) mysteriously die after a bioterrorism agent is released leaving nothing more than skeletons and piles of body fluids and tissues.  (yes, it was a little gruesome to watch.)

In the search for the scientist responsible for releasing the toxin, FBI agent Olivia Dunham’s partner and lover John Scott (Mark Valley) is exposed to the raw ingredients of the toxin in an explosion leaving him to a slowed version of the same fate dealt to the Flight 627 passengers.

Now Olivia (Anna Torv) must not only solve the mystery behind Flight 627, she must find a cure for John.  Her research leads her to Walter Bishop (John Noble), a brilliant scientist who did research in fringe science for the government in the 70s and 80s.  In fact, his work turns out to be the basis for the contagion used in Flight 627.

But Walter isn’t a suspect.  For the last 17 years he has been incarcerated in a mental hospital following the death of one of his lab assistants and speculation that he was conducting tests on humans.  Now he is allowed no visitors outside of family.

Since Walter might hold the key to not only Flight 627, but treatment for John, Olivia seeks out Walter’s only son, Peter (Joshua Jackson), to gain access to Walter.  A genius in his own right, Peter has refused to follow in the footsteps of the “mad scientist” father he’s separated himself from for so many years, choosing instead to wander from job to job and place to place getting himself into his own trouble in the process.

Together the trio – Olivia, Walter and Peter – work to solve the case and save John from the toxin.  But what they discover changes their perspectives forever.  The threesome then signs up to work for Homeland Security Agent Phillip Broyles (Lance Reddick, The Wire and Lost) to investigate The Pattern.

I originally tuned in because I like J.J. Abrams and I’m a big Pacey – I mean Joshua Jackson – fan, but I’ll be returning for the intrigue.  There were a few predictable moments like how the team came to work for Broyles, but for the most part, I was on the edge of my seat throughout the show.

The show is also laced with a nice blend of humor.  The cow in the first episode was my favorite especially when they are all eating lunch with it. 

Joshua Jackson does a great job of showing his character’s conflict between his interest (and knack) for the science with his distrust of his father.  Peter acts as Walter’s conscious preventing him from becoming Dr. Frankenstein.  As Olivia says, Peter is the only one who can “speak Walter.”

It’s also easy to see that there will be some chemistry between Peter and Olivia in future episodes.  For being such a loner, Peter really seems to care about people.

I’m also very intrigued by the mysterious Massive Dynamics and the yet-unseen William Bell, who just happened to be Walter’s former lab partner.  It’ll be no mystery to learn that Massive Dynamics is behind The Pattern.  What will be surprising is to learn why and how far Bell and company have gone with the technology.

Nina Sharp (Blair Brown) – and her robotic arm – is very creepy as the Massive Dynamics Chief Operating Officer who warns Olivia that science has already gone too far to be controlled.

I, for one, am looking forward to the next episode.  This show has definitely earned a spot on the DVR this season.  Let’s just hope Fox doesn’t screw it up.

If you missed the premiere episode, Fox is re-airing it on Sunday, Sept. 14 at 8 p.m. or you can watch it online at Fox.com.

Anyone else catch this premiere? What did you think? Does the show have potential? What was your favorite part?

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