First Week Blues

This is the middle of my first week back at school. I'm exhausted, but at the same time exilerated. School is such a pivotal point for so many.

Turning points in my life revolve around school. Think about it. First there's kindegarten and that very, very first day. The nerves, the stomach aches, recess, storytime, and naptime. Why don't they have naptime in the older grades? But going to school marked the beginning of independence from our parents.

Junior high marked the start of "going together." The first time we took a look at the opposite sex and didn't think they were gross. In my day, the big thing was to trade ID bracelets. When that happened, you were seriously going together. Of course, in most cases, it didn't last past a week but still... We also started taking a keener interest in fashion and make-up and girly-girl stuff.

High School, the part of our lives that most of us would never ever want to repeat and yet, it's the part of my school career I remember most; the bad and the good. I enjoyed a bit of rebellion, though for the most part, I was pretty tame as a teen. I learned to perform before large groups, I volunteered time at the hospital and I excelled in school. But I failed miserably at relationships as I was too shy to attract the attentions of a boyfriend. Probably for the best. I think I could have easily fallen in the category of "follower" and could have been led astray by the right guy. Ah, the follies of youth.

College marked another turning point as I moved out of the house and came into my own. Met my first DH and earned a degree. But I didn't "find" myself until I returned to college three years after earning my first degree to get certified to teach.

Now, each year begins in August for me and not January because time is marked by the school calendar. I look at each new face and wonder what trial they will face, what challenges and successes. Life is ever evolving.

Even for those that don't teach, their lives are ruled by the school calendar if they have school=age children. And again, pivotal moments revolve around school as they watch their children grow and mature. Gotta love the cycle of life.