October 1, 2013
First Day of School Always Brought Trepidation

Well it's October 1st and we're one month into the new school year.  That sets my mind to wandering about the many first-day-of-schools in my past.  I recall the smorgasbord of emotions I felt as school day #1 approached every fall.

With trepidation I faced the preparation of back to school time, indeed, as August rolled laboriously into my Camelot-like summers. Advertisements toting sales of clothing and school supplies crept into the dog days of summer and somehow set a tarnish ot the summer break. Well meaning folks spouted phrases such as, "Are you ready for school?" or "Summer went by so fast didn't it?!"

It was all so ugly.  

But then......a new book bag, a few articles of clothing and the crowning glory:  a new pair of penny loafers, and my attitude and morale was greatly improved.  It's amazing what a little shopping therapy will do for one's psyche!

I recall strutting around the house in my new shoes in an effort to "break them in" before the big first day of school.  And lining all my new supplies up, then packing them into my school bag.  It was the balm on the wound of my dying summer days.

Somehow that compensated for the sheer terror that I always felt at facing a new school year.

Have you ever had the frightening dream of being in a school building and not knowing where to go, how to get to your next class, or where you should really be?  I have.  And sometimes that nightmare still haunts me now and then.  It must mean something and someday maybe I'll understand just what.

But the mirror-shined floors, the sparkling-clean desks, and the carefully prepared classroom bulletin boards are all signs that a new school year is in motion.  And with that comes the excitement of the academic year:  learning and camaraderie, and self-expression.  It's all very exciting. 

Yet in the far recesses of my mind I recall the sheer terror of facing it all.  I only hope that the students of today are more confident and relaxed because really, these are the days that they will remember for the rest of their lives.  And may those memories be sweet ones.  

And may they also remember their locker combinations, their room numbers, their homework assignments, and may they get to class before the bell rings!