application pending

This afternoon I am seeing a new off-Broadway play, Application Pending.  It's about the ridiculously competitive process of getting your child into a good nursery-school program.

Unlike most cities, New York students (and their parents) are subject to an excruciating process of school admissions, whether it's private or public.  I imagine in most cities the majority of kids go to the local elementary school that then feeds into the local middle school that then leads to the city's one high school.  If only New York City kids had it that easy.

Here it's a competition every step of the way, beginning with nursery school at age two-and-a-half.  

October 1995, just starting school

Nursery school is a nice, protective introduction to education.  Alexander loved it, though he was not happy at graduation. When giving Alexander his diploma, Wendy (the head of school) forgot to mention that my son wanted to be an ambulance driver when he grew up.  She mentioned firefighter and policeman, but Alexander was not happy with her omission of his desire to be behind the wheel of an ambulance.  In protest, he refused to stand and sing the school song at the end of the graduation ceremony.

May 28, 1998, Epiphany School  Graduation

Alexander next went to PS290, colloquially known as Manhattan New School (MNS).  

first day of Kindergarten at MNS

For sixth grade, Alexander applied to both public and private schools, deciding ultimately on Horace Mann, where middle school leads directly to high school.

first day of middle school at Horace Mann

The last days of summer before HS begins.
Coast Guard Beach, August 2007, Eastham Mass

And soon my baby boy was graduating.

June 8, 2011

I knew college came next.  

move-in day at Cornell, August 19, 2011

But now, all a sudden, Alexander is a college senior. There is no immediate next school. I didn't feel like an empty-nester when my son left for college; I feel like I'm becoming one now.

Ahead of Alexander are dreams waiting to be lived.  Dreams that remain undefined.  I almost wish he had an application pending. At least then I'd know what was coming next.