The dust of everyday life

I feel like I've been quiet here this week.
We've been taking time to visit schools as we face making decisions about where Jasper will go to school next autumn. He is only 5, and yet this whole process of applying to schools, visiting, interviewing, having observed play times, has all left me feeling spent and spread thin. IT is only Kindergarten, I keep telling myself, how can it be sane for it to be this complicated?
When my children were very young I heard bits and rumors about the rigorous process of finding a school for your child here in NYC, I remember thinking that I would be the girl who was above being stressed out by the whole thing. I would be the laid back mom who assessed the options in a smooth analytical way and then immediately saw and chose the best option for my child. No problem.
The reality has seen me sitting amidst piles of papers as I fill out applications and debate the merits of differing educational models and class sizes while Frank looks on with a worried look.
Here in Brooklyn there are other things to consider as well, like the hassle factor of getting your child to a school that is only 3 miles away but those are 3 miles that would take you a half hour each way to drive with the morning and afternoon rush.

With all of the craziness we finally got around to visiting our local public school yesterday, expecting to be unimpressed, and that's where I took the above photo. What a breath of fresh air! We live in a neighborhood that has seen a lot of young creative people move in over the past 10 years, and the school reflects that with its warm, art filled halls.

We still have our decisions to make, over the next few weeks.
I just love the idea of art washing the soul, cleansing the dust of everyday life. I imagine stepping out of a refreshing shower, ready to begin again.