“Fasting from singularity and feasting on interrelatedness”
When I (front row, second from left) went to kindergarten, I had a chance to meet other little girls. I had been the single girl in my neighborhood gang of boys.While they were great friends, they weren’t particularly interested in dresses, hair dos and playing house.. So kindergarten gave me my first chance to play dress up and dolls. Fortunately, in those days, kindergarten was purely about socialization and not at all about academics.
My class was very economically diverse. Joyce, the little girl seated to my right lived in a house with tar paper siding. Some kids came to school in very old clothing. Two years later, my parents bought a house in an affluent suburb full of identically privileged kids. I was not to meet such a diverse set of people again until I left home.
I loved kindergarten because it exposed me to all sorts of kids. I disliked the conformity pressed on me at my next school. As an adult, I chose to live in an economically and ethnically diverse neighborhood. I go to a church which serves homeless people and women in fur coats.
May we extract ourselves from our “selfies” culture long enough to realize we are not much alone. May we thrive on our commonality with others who appear to be quite different from ourselves. May we be as excited to meet new people as I was to find out that there were other girls!
Saved By Words 
What a great photo and such darling young people! I love this theme that you are doing–so very worthwhile, and so many nice memories.
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Thanks. I really loved Miss Hilen my teacher. I remember how big she looked. I guess she was!
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Certainly compared to those tiny children, she looks reassuringly large, like a mama bear.
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Just found a long comment from you in my spam. Have no,idea why. It was the one about the attic.
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Huh. Maybe if you changed your akismet setting, they all go there now. Otherwise, I have no insight into the thinking of wordpress!
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Great little kids, nice photo!
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They were a great bunch.
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So true Elizabeth.
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A wonderful life choice to make, Elizabeth. Diversity is much more interesting and fun [as well as creating acceptance and tolerance] than everything being the same.
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I agree.
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Such a wonderful kindergarten memory to be exposed in various cultures that now shaped your life.
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Yes I think it did shape my life in a good way.
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