Woke-Up Thinking

There’s a sweet greystone house at the end of a row in Lakeview on the Northside of Chicago with a precious little pre-school in it called The Mary Meyer School. It’s an unusual little place. It’s small.  There is a class of 18 children in the morning and 18 children in the afternoon. So, it’s supported by very few families at a time. But graduates are so devoted, they continue to support and espouse the virtues of the school for years to come. I woke up thinking about Mary Meyer today. Both my boys had the luck to spend one year there. After, Isaac moved on to kindergarten in Chicago and Ari moved on to pre-school London. 

On Facebook, I have this photo album of a collection of hearts that I’ve photographed wherever and whenever I find them. I recently added a photograph of a painting I did right after Isaac graduated from Mary Meyer. It’s a super happy painting with a heart in the middle. I call it Mary Meyer. Now, for me, the gut thing about Mary Meyer is very palpable. You walk in the front door and you are hit with a wall of love. Bam! Every time. And you’re like, “I don’t care WHAT they teach in there, I want to send my kid there!” 

After I spent some time there, I began to realize what they’re really doing. Where they’re placing their strongest value.  Of course, it is “play-based” like many other pre-schools, but really, what they are teaching is how to be a friend. How to be a person in a community. How to be a person in the world. But mostly, how to be a friend.  It sounds simple. But is it?

So maybe that’s why I woke up thinking about friends because they have been my saviors. And somewhere along the way, someone taught them to be able to do that. Even if it’s a family member, honestly, if you get along with them it’s probably because they’ve been able to treat you like a friend. My hope is that I’ve learned how to be a friend too, (and I hope that my friends agree!) I’m going to think hard today and track down where, or from who, I learned to be a friend.  Maybe I can thank somebody for it. And if you're my friend and you know who taught you how, thank them for me. Ok?

My biggest relief is that my children have this foundation inside them forever.  I watch them.  And I see that they know how to treat a mate. That they really care. This makes me SO proud. If they never learn anything else…

This life-long wisdom that is so valued at Mary Meyer seeps in so nicely.  I don’t think the kids really notice. It’s like real Vermont maple syrup on a Mickey Mouse pancake. It clearly belongs there, but it's not so easy to come by, much better with it, and sadly, not everyone gets to have it.  Idea for college core curriculum: Friendship 101.