It’s that time of year…
that bittersweet time.

You can just feel it…
There’s a  nip in the air.

You can hear it…
The crickets croon.

You can smell it…
Drying leaves and withering grass.

There’s that knot in the stomach…
not sure if it’s nervous or excited.

It’s an ending…
but it is also a beginning.

Carefree days are left behind…
Structured schedules begin.

It’s brand new shoes…
and choosing just the right first day outfit.

It’s shiny new binders…
and backpacks with lots of compartments.

It’s one-subject and three-subject and five-subject
multi-colored spiral notebooks.

It’s freshly sharpened pencils…
and pens in red, and blue and black.

It’s fresh new crayons and assorted colored pencils…
and highlighters in neon shades of yellow and pink and green.

It’s the anticipation of seeing old friends
and the hope of meeting new ones.

It’s new teachers, new subjects, new classrooms…
It’s squeaky clean blackboards with fresh sticks of chalk.

It’s time to secretly pass notes
with important messages

like “Do you like me? Yes or No
Circle One”

It’s waiting with the neighbors at the bus stop
and sharing seats times three.

And then growing old enough
to be too cool for the bus.

It’s apples for teachers
and pictures with bus drivers.

It’s back to school time –
Can you feel it in the air?

And even though it’s been
quite a few years

since I sent my boys off
with ambivalent feelings of sadness and pride

and even more since it was me as that little girl
with butterflies of anticipation, fear, and excitement

I still get that feeling
this time of year.

Sweet joyful memories…
sprinkled with a dash of melancholy.

I can’t be the only one
that feels this way.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

Daily Prompt:  Learning