Tears for school

I don't know what to do .Zoe  is 6 and has always loved school. Last year in Pre-K there was no trouble about her going to school. She looked forward to it every day. That's the way it's been this year, too.....until after Christmas break. Then her tummy started to hurt a lot. Her anxiety level has shot up. She cries every morning before school. She upsets herself so much about it that she's splotchy when she goes to school from crying.

I've tried to explain to her that sometimes we have to do things that maybe we don't want to. She says she just wants to stay home with me (she's always been home with me). A and I did find out that a friend she's had since she was too tiny to walk has found a new friend and is playing with someone else. The friend is not excluding Zoe, but Zoe's a little jealous of the new friendship.

What bothers me the most is that I don't want her to inherit my social awkwardness. I'm no good at small talk. I'm honestly no good at making friends. I get scared I'll say the wrong thing or that someone won't like me (yeah, I've got some issues). But when Zoe's with me, I try to push those things aside to be an example for her that such things are not scary.

I just don't know what to do to help her. We've had snow days the past 2 days and having her home was wonderful but certainly didn't help with her anxiety.

I guess I'm just muddling through this the best I can.