THE MOVERS ARRIVE TODAY, round one. Mind you I was the girl who showed up to her first day of college with a moving truck and two men in uniformed shirts. I’ve moved so often that I’m now an expert packer (only I can’t pack a suitcase to save a pony). It’s kind of a convenient perk when you have family in the moving business, especially given how often I’ve moved—particularly in Manhattan. Today the truck arrives to take as much as I’ve packed, which isn’t enough. I haven’t even started on my closet or the kids’ room. Phil packed the entire kitchen. I’ve just finished the playroom. And it wasn’t until yesterday that we officially even signed a lease for a place in New York.

So, what did we decide? Phil visited the school in Roslyn, met with the principal, etc. Afterward, when I asked him how it went, he gave me an undistinguished syllable. “Eh.” When I pressed him further, he said, “Well, it’s not a bad school. It’s a school. The gym looks like a gym, the library like a library. They don’t use smart boards, they use the Columbia Teacher’s College approach to math, not the Singapore method. There are nine kindergarten classes this coming year.” While I heard the words, I was really focused on his tone.

Early this year he visited the Jericho school for which the kids would be zoned, for their kindergarten orientation. When I asked him how that went, Phil actually raved. I don’t even know about what he raved; I was too in shock. I’d never heard him so positive. And, what’s more, he actually said these words, “I was really, really impressed.”

I hung up, researching both schools again, Roslyn more closely this time. And I couldn’t get past that Roslyn High School didn’t make the Newsweek top 1000 public schools in the country. Not even on there. Beyond that though I just don’t love the idea of such a big school, for social reasons. I prefer a more intimate setting, where the parents get to really know the kids and other parents. It takes a village, not a county. The Jericho school has three kindergarten classes. But it’s not all about the school.

We actually looked into Manhasset, which would please us both, but nothing was on the market. Even things that say they are on the market are either taken or unavailable (can’t show it for a month, move in isn’t until September, etc.) I called Phil to let him know that I’d be okay with Roslyn, so long as if we were even the slightest bit iffy about the education, we’d buy in Jericho. To which he responded, “Let’s just do Jericho—on the condition that we reassess if the drive is absolutely too much on me.” We both exhausted the whole “are you sure this is what you want?” thing. I think we’re both happy with the decision… at least for now.

I figure if I’ve survived Boca, I can thrive in Jericho. It’s like that weighted baseball bat players use to warm up.