Nicolus in His Natural Environment

Recently, I talked for thirty minutes with a mother of one of Cole's friends about how much I love the social environment of the boys' school. Yes, because they attend this school, they've gotten to take Zumbatomic, computer art, band, and a bunch of other fun electives. Yes, the academics at this school are stellar and the teachers are top notch. But the number one thing that gets me singing the praises of this school is the fact that my socially awkward, incredibly nerdy 10-year-old fits right in.

I said to the other mother, "Cole is a bit of a dork, but at their school, it's okay to be a dork." It's okay to be smart and love to read and make a gazillion Origami Yodas and know 1000 different Pokemon and design comic books and speak with the vocabulary of a seventeen-year-old. It's okay, and you're not going to be excluded for being a dork because 50% of the kids are also dorks, and when 50% of the population are dorks, being dorky becomes the new cool.

I remember fourth grade as the year my peers began dividing themselves into cliques, so maybe it's still coming for Cole. Or maybe as a boy, he gets to avoid that particular brand of drama (a mother can only hope). But so far, fingers-crossed, in the environment of his school, his dorkiness is thriving and it's beautiful.