Back To School

In the next few days, kids from this neck of the woods will be walking into those hallowed halls of learning. I don't have children of my own, but I know lots of children - my nephews and the kids at the church and many of them are not happy about this development. Where did summer go? Only three months ago, summer lay out before them like a carpet. Months of free time to sleep late, stay up late, show up late for supper and generally be carefree. Already the alarms are set and bedtime has reared it's ugly head. Parents are trying to get kids back "into a routine". To this I quote a well know poet, "Rage against the dying of the light!"
I have noticed that when my alarm goes off at 6:30 a.m., it's barely sunrise. It was so much easier to face the day when the sun greeted you in the morning. Now I have to crawl out of the nest while it's still night time. Not fair. Oh, but I digress...
The back-to-school sales have been going strong since mid-July and the big box store I visited last week had nary a stapler left for the stragglers. I used to love buying school supplies. Ok, truth be told, I still love buying school supplies. Fresh new pens, blank notebooks ready for your most profound thoughts and mindless doodles. My mother would take me school shopping for clothes and shoes as I had "grown like a weed" over the summer. I loved the thought of wearing my new outfits to school and being in fashion for a week or two before styles changed again.
Most kids really love their backpacks. They can't wait to choose their back ornaments for a new year. Will it be Hannah Montana, Spiderman or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? The choices are endless. Backpacks have gone hi-tech since I was a kid. Now they have handles and wheels to roll them along so as not to cripple the small child schlepping their homework home. Super cool!
This time of year always makes me want to put on sweaters and go to football games. I was a varsity football cheerleader in high school and always enjoyed cheering on the crisp fall Friday nights. I've taken in a couple of Mandan High School football games and they are fun. Homecoming is the best. The handsome Homecoming King and beautiful Homecoming Queen mark out at half-time. He's usually in his football jersey and she's in a dress that much to tiny for the cool fall weather.
I remember my first day of kindergarten. I was excited and scared as we walked into the big building filled with big people and big kids. I was nervous about getting lost, eating lunch in the cafeteria and finding my way home. By the end of the first week, I was a pro. I knew which water fountain had the coolest water and what side of the playground we could safely play on without getting trampled by the huge sixth graders.
Now that I'm a little older, I love to watch the first day of school scene. The child, excited and nervous, dressed in new jeans and looking very small. The parents , excited and nervous, looking very large in a hallway full of elementary aged children. The parents linger outside the building after they have dropped off their children, just in case. In only 13 short years, those children will be taller than their parents, dressed in a cap and gown. Enjoy those thirteen years. Even the calls in the middle of the morning from the school asking you to retrieve an ill child. Those years will go too quickly.
Drive safely as the children run across the street to greet their friends after a long summer. Watch out for the teary parent as they pull away from the curb after dropping off their baby. Be careful of our new crop of drivers as they navigate the city streets and the high school parking lots. Take a good look, it'll pass in a blink.