There are approximately 72 hours left. My freedom has an
expiration date, I’m afraid. School is starting in three days. Oh, I don’t mean
to be thaaaaaaat dramatic. Technically I won’t be losing my actual freedom (and
I know there are places where people—especially women—truly don’t have freedom
of choice so I must keep my situation in perspective). But the school year is a
marathon I’m not ready for yet. A few days ago I opened an email from the
school and—no exaggeration—it had a nineteen-page newsletter attached. Nineteen.
A lot of it didn’t really apply to our family, but still. I guess they want us
to jump in with both feet. School’s coming, whether I’m ready or not.
Where did summer go? For a season filled with longer days of
sunlight, it sure sped by in an instant. I know what the problem is. Summer is
too short. They expect us to decompress from the frantic pace of the school
year in nine or ten short weeks. (Note to universe: the weekend is also too
short.) I spent the first two weeks exhausted from the final lap in the school
year. Finally I regained some energy, and then it was time to tackle the things
we’d put off during the school year. For us, summer is less stressful in that
there aren’t as many fixed deadlines about what time to get to places, and what
is due when. But maybe the idea that summer will be calmer is just an illusion.
Well, in all honesty, some of it is me. I say I want relaxation but I find new
projects if I have more than a few days of lull. I joined the community garden
this summer, which was great. Then I decided to paint the mural there, which
took several weeks, and that was all my choice. But I still feel like I could
use an extension on summer. If you can get one from the IRS, shouldn’t you be
able to get one from elementary school?
I will confess that there’s one thing that I’m a little
excited about this fall: Halloween. Oh, I’m still dragging my feet, wanting to
hold onto the last wisps of summer, but yesterday in Michaels (my favorite store)
I was checking out the Halloween decorations. (They were set up July 5, I
presume, as a nocturnal band of elves took down the red, white and blue.)
Halloween is pure fun.
But let’s get back to the complaint at hand: the start of
school. I’m so not ready for the endless cycle of packing lunches, prying
sleepy eyes open each morning, racing against the clock to get there, nagging
about homework, coaching through book reports, the tangle of cars in the
parking lot, and repeating every day for nine months.
But there will be good moments too, I know. Seeing familiar
faces, dressing up for Halloween, and marveling over how much the kids are
learning.
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