@carrie: I hear you about the dropping by the school thing. I’ve tried volunteering here and there but I also find it tough to talk to the other moms most of the time; I always feel like I’m on some other wavelength, and they can sense it. Probably just my imagination, but wherever it’s coming from, it gets in the way!
The other thing that bugs me is that the other parents are often so busy chatting that they don’t seem to be focusing on the kids. As in, hello, why are we all here in the first place?
The school bus stop is easier, though, because there are just two or three other parents there, and about ten kids. So I’m starting small! 
@powcat: High five on getting ready for university! Good luck!
Right now I’m working on getting my household chores on some kind of regular schedule. Right now I can’t tell if this is a Huge Step Forward or Just One More List/System that will be abandoned – that’s a whole separate vent. I suppose actually doing any household chores is progress! But so far, so good – the bathrooms are all shiny! Oooh, shiny!