Back to School Musings

Everyone is thinking about and talking about  back-to-school time.  The feelings are mixed – there is a note of sadness for some and excitement for others.  In either case, back-to-school time is a time of change.

Some mourn the end of summer days and all that they bring…the slower, freer pace, the warm, sunny weather, the opportunity to sit and just dream.  Others are happy to see summer go.  Not everyone loves the warm weather.  Some look forward to the cooler fall air and the return of the school year structure, whether in school or not, and the approach of what has become a rather extended holiday season.

In celebration of the last week of summer and/or the first week of school, I share some of my favorite things about this time of the year.

There is such promise in preparing a new stash of school supplies…glue, scissors, homework tablet, unsullied pencil case filled with a bouquet of newly-sharpened pencils.  On the night before school began each September, I sorted these precious jewels over and over again…examining them, trying them, anxious to use each one.  I opened the notebooks, sniffed that particular scent of clean white pages, felt the smoothness of each leaf under my fingers.  I packed my treasure lovingly in a brand-new schoolbag, placed it next to my stiff, squeaky new school shoes, and went to bed to dream of the year ahead.

A favorite comfort of mine is what I call back-to-school weather.  Close your eyes.  Now think about crisp, cool fall days.  You know the kind: days when the leaves on the trees are shades of gold, orange, and red that set the world on fire.  The scent of wood and apples and dead leaves mixes together with sounds of jacket zipping closed against the slight chill in the air.  There is a comfort about this time of year, much like that of preparations for bedtime and looking forward to comfortable, renewing sleep.

The strange part, though, is that in my mind, this weather somehow coincided with the very beginning of school – or did it?  Was it always this hot at the start of school?  Maybe the weather I recall didn’t actually happen until weeks later…it’s hard to say for sure.  Either way, it’s coming and it is still exciting.

Whether you long for just one or two more weeks of summer freedom, or you are eager to return to the routine and structure of the autumn, or you feel just a little bit of desire for both, I wish you happiness and promise at this time of change.