I haven’t written in quite a while … Been busy with my kids’ return to school.
September is definitely an adjustment time, a time of new beginnings and newfound
stress after 2 months of “carefree” summer days.
I’ve heard some parents say that the start of the school year is more stressful for
them than it is for their kids. Plenty of paperwork, lots of books to be covered,
new teacher personalities, which we pray will mesh with our own. We are now at the
mercy of a structured routine (which doesn’t include staying in our pajamas till noon).
We can’t help but worry about our kids a little:
Will they be happy in school?
Will their teacher be fair?
Will they fit in?
Will they be successful in their work?
Will they bully or be bullied?
Will teachers and other students notice how special they are?
Will teachers and other students notice what nudges they are?
Will homework time magically become pleasant this year?
Will our children know we believe in them and feel proud of
them no matter what happens at school?
I try to think back to my own school days. Despite how different things were back then
(in the old days), my guess is that the feelings of today’s school-age children are
much the same as the ones I experienced: uncertainty, hope, fear, excitement.
One beginning-of-the-school-year experience stands out. I was starting third grade,
which meant I was moving to the upper elementary school, a different building than
where I’d been for grades K-2. I was heartbroken leaving my previous teacher,
Miss Convey, because she had looped with my class so she’d been our teacher for first
AND second grade. I was nervous about third grade, a new teacher, and a bigger school.
On the first day, I came downstairs (all decked out in my back-to-school outfit,
which was no doubt long-sleeved and may have involved the “it’s too hot for tights
but I’m so excited about my new school clothes that I have to wear them” tights.
The outside temp was most likely pushing 80 degrees too). My stomach was in knots
and I didn’t feel hungry, but I was going to eat breakfast anyway. Opening the cabinet
where we kept the cereals, I noticed that the Cheerios box wasn’t there. In fact,
none of the cereal boxes were there. I looked around the kitchen and spotted them
all on the counter near my fishbowl. This reminded me to feed my fish, Olivia
(appropriately named after Olivia Newton-John… Grease had premiered that year).
The cereal boxes were strangely arranged in a U-shape around the front of my fishbowl.
Pushing them out of the way, I looked in to the bowl.
“Where’s Olivia?” I asked my mom. She looked at me with pity.
“I was trying to hide it,” she answered, “because it’s your first day of school
and I don’t want you to be sad today … I came down this morning, and Olivia
was floating on top of the water. I’m sorry, Honey.”
I thought about this for a moment. I couldn’t deal with being sad on my first day
of third grade. My nerves already had me feeling queasy. So I simply said, “Oh,
okay!” and continued on pour to my Cheerios. My mom was in shock. We’d had Olivia
for about 2 years; she was one of those goldfish you win at the carnival by throwing
the ping-pong ball into the little glass globe. Those goldfish are usually dead
within 3-5 days. But not Olivia. She lived a long, happy life in the Hogan house.
Strangely enough, my daughter won a ping-pong-in-the-glass-globe goldfish 15 months
ago. Like Olivia, my daughter’s fish (“Twinkle Toes”) is livin’ large (and LONG).
Of course, we had to buy 2 other goldfish for my sons, who felt left out being
fish-less.
The day before school started, I walked into the kitchen to see Twinkle Toes floating
on top of the (very dirty) water. “Oh, @#$^&;%$!@!@#$%%$#@!!!” I thought … “Not the
day before my little girl starts kindergarten!” I had prepared water to clean out the
tank too and was just getting ready to do that. Damn! I glanced into my pantry to see
how many cereal boxes I had on hand.
Looking closely, I suddenly saw the fish’s mouth and fin move. I quickly grabbed the net,
scooped her out of the tank and dumped her into the clean bowl of water. It was as if
she’d been electrically shocked back to life. She sputtered for a moment and then began
to swim slowly around the bowl. In a matter of minutes, Twinkle Toes was bright-eyed and
bushy … finned. Thank goodness. I wouldn’t have to add a fish funeral to the stress of
starting school. Now that the kids are gone during the day, I’d better make time to keep
the fish tank clean.
Ah, school memories … If you’re reading this, I’d love to hear yours!
The World of Author/Mom Alicia Murphy! 