New academic year = new friends. Not just for the kids, but for the parents, too. Every September a new grade, or even a new school, brings us close to a new set of people who are, on paper, so much like us. They have children the same age as ours, and they are enduring and/or enjoying similar developmental joys and challenges in their families.
But parents, like their kids, are a giant mix of personalities. With some we fit naturally (hello boozy class cocktail parties) and some we don’t (advice: Forget to wear glasses to school drop off, the easier to participate in eye contact avoidance).