Seven-year-old A. came back from her family’s trip to Vietnam Wednesday, and, to my surprise, showed up at her session with me on Thursday. Since for her it felt like 4 AM, she was too tired to do anything but share her newest song, “I’m So Desperate,” a lament about the frustrations of unrequited love in Second Grade. Nicholas is the problem. The verses explain how the young man (the VERY young man) has enticed A. along with several of her friends, to fall in love with him, only to dump them one by one for dubious reasons: Greta polishes her nails, he hates Isabel’s giggle … Very catchy chorus that I can’t get out of my mind: I’m SO des-per-ate … Afterwards, spent, A. flopped on the couch and elaborated further on the complexities of relationships. “Tell me,” I asked, “is it ever hard to concentrate on school subjects when all this is going on?” She glared at me with a what-a-dumb-question look on her face. “Well YEAH.” Real life in the Second Grade.

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