the preschool that almost was

I am in mourning this week. I am mourning the preschool that almost was. Sarah got in to the preschool at the public school in our neighborhood in Manhattan. It was mere blocks away. It was 5 days a week for 2 1/2 hours per day. It was FREE. It was perfect. And then we moved. I looked into preschools in our new area. One was $800. A month. I decided for that price they should be providing room and board for my child for the entire month. (I might be willing to visit occasionally.) It turns out it was only 2 hours per day, and lunch was not provided unless I paid extra. The cheapest one I found was $400 per month. That seemed even a bit ridiculous to me as it rivaled what I paid in college tuition per semester. I found that I couldn't feel good about spending that kind of money for my kid to play and learn her letters (which she already knows, thank you very much) at preschool. So now Sarah and I are hanging together at home for another year. We're thinking of making a chain to count down the days to kindergarten. We might wait a while, however, as 365 chains might take up an entire room in our apartment. We've got a few things up our sleeves of what we'll be doing for the next year, and I'm starting to get excited. Lest you think I am a terrible person just biding my time to ship my kid off to school, I will admit that I think she needs the time away from me as well.