This time of year is so bitter sweet. So sad to say goodbye to the beautiful days of summer. Walking outside with no shoes on, sleeping at night with the windows open, running through the sprinkler and eating popsicles by the boxful. Of course, fall is beautiful too, but there is always that sense of saying goodbye. Now is the time to remember to say "Hello!" Hello to a new year of possibilities, opportunities, and memories to be made. It is back to school time!
Today Kyle started his first day of preschool at a new center. While he spent the last year and a half at a preschool/daycare, he is now attending the preschool program at his future elementary school. My husband and I are both very excited for him. Talk about the possibilities, opportunities and memories to be made...in this class he could possibly meet a lifetime friend. Learn to love school, or to dislike it. Discover his interests, his strengths and his weaknesses. Because of my sons, September will once again be filled with the hustle and bustle of "back to school" time for me; something I haven't really experienced in quite some time.
Of course, there were the elementary school days when the night before class started I would be out on the lawn with my best neighbor friend comparing school supplies. Sparkly pencil boxes, new crayons, pencils, notebooks and trapper keepers. Nothing like back to school shopping to get you excited for school!
And then there were the high school days...the horrid sound of the alarm clock on the first day, stressing about what to wear, finding your classes, knowing people in your classes, while at the same time being excited at the prospect of another year. New friendships, new crushes, old heartaches, lots of drama.
And the college back-to-school production: packing up your entire life at the end of the summer, shopping for fun dorm and apartment decorations like fuzzy, bright colored pillows, plastic blow-up chairs, futons and all colors of Christmas lights. That first week of classes where all you do is read 17 credit hours worth of syllabuses.
And for me, the back to school feelings that were especially sweet. This time of year always makes me think of my years as assistant director of a private preschool. While we were open year-round, September was always filled with so much fun and excitement that it made me a little less sad to see summer slip away. When September rolls around, I am filled with memories of my time there...surrounded by the sweet faces of up to 45 kids every day. And of course teachers never have favorites, and neither did I (Ava. Evan. Madison. Jessa. Zachary. Candice. Colin. Stevie. J.J. Gabrielle. Kalli. Kayden. Madeline. Bridgett. Molly). I loved my busy days at the preschool, sometimes working all day from 7:00 to 6:00. I remember the smell of the craft cabinet. The bright and colorful circle rug. The beautiful playground. The pleasant sensation of pulling, pressing, and sticking the sticky-tac that all the teachers hoarded because it was so useful! I remember the crazy parents, and the ones that we loved. I remember dodging dozens of busy little bodies with a phone clipped to my waistline and four pitchers of juice in my hands. I remember changing over a dozen diapers a day, cleaning up puke, boogers, poop, and tears on a regular basis. The tantrums, the crying, and the screaming. I remember the friends that I made there. I remember skipping out of the doors smiling and laughing on most days, but almost crying on others. I remember the careful planning and preparation that went into each and every day.
Why did we work so hard? Because we loved teaching. We LOVED the children. And especially because our goal was to INSPIRE A LOVE OF LEARNING in each and every one of them.
I hope and pray that Kyle has teachers like me, and the best of my friends who worked at the amazing center I was blessed to work at for so long. As he starts this new journey, a lifetime of "back to school Septembers," this is my biggest wish for him. A love of learning. If he has that spirit, he will have no limitations. I know that he will be a shining star. Happy Back to School to my *FAVORITE* four and a half year old kid in the whole wide world.
