A great week

Stella's first week back at school could not have gone any better.

She is thrilled to finally be spending her days at school with her friends (I take no offense), and has been in the best of moods every single day at pickup time.  Stella has reconnected with her friends as if it had been days, not months, since they last saw her.   She has been attentive and engaged in the classroom, and is having no problems with homework (besides procrastination, of course).  

Stella began the week a little self-conscious about her hair, but the week went by without a single incident of teasing, gawking, or anything else that would have made Stella feel bad about herself.  On the contrary, she is remarkably confident--waiting for the schoolyard gates to open at yesterday's dismissal, I watched a completely bareheaded(!) Stella running around and laughing with her friends.  After school, she had a playdate with her friend Arianna at Bleecker Playground.  Here she is taking a water break between spirited rounds of hide-and-seek.