Socialization Issues, Sailing, and Duke the Wonder Dog

It appears that we are having some socialization issues at school...this is new for us. Eve has always socialized very well, but she is coming home now saying that the other kids won't play with her. I don't know if this is Eve being her overly dramatic self...or if they really won't play with her. She is the "new kid in town" in a very small town and the school is only 150 kids...which I thought was a good thing. I am trying REALLY hard to not freak out about it. She is getting along well with Nancy's kids...but they are older and she has already learned it's not cool for them to talk to her at school. Ah, the pecking order begins...my poor baby Kindergartner...low man on the totem pole. So, any extra phone calls and/or letters from home to her would be great right now...just want to boost her up as much as possible when she's home.

In fun news, Eve and I are going sailing tomorrow after school. She gets out of school at 12:30pm on Wednesdays and I am picking her up and meeting one of my regular customers and his dog (Duke) to go sailing out to the sand bar in the Kaneohe Bay. He's a tour guide for the Kualoa Ranch (2nd career) and his wife is a 6th grade school teacher...very nice people.

Let me tell you about Duke. Duke is the coolest dog ever. He's named after the famous surfer and swimmer, Duke Kahanamoku. Duke came to visit me at the bar yesterday...he's so cute and friendly. One time he was sailing with his owner and fell off (like 2 miles out in choppy seas). Wally searched and searched for him to no avail and finally had to give up and come in. He put up signs just in case Duke surfaced. Two days later, he got a call that someone had Duke. The dog had swum to shore...how awesome is that?? He's a wonder dog.