september begins

There is no other time of year that is like this; everything is fresh, everything is new. It’s September and it’s the start of the school year. Pencils are unsharpened, notebooks are pristine, the pages in textbooks have yet to be highlighted, floors are polished and unscuffed, number lines start at zero. I love this time of year. Because, as much as we try to say that January is the beginning of a new year, we are wrong; September is the beginning.

There is always hope in the beginning; a wish and dream for the best possible things to come. A beginning, of anything, is almost always perfect. It’s what follows that can become baffled and mixed-up. For now, we’re in that world of infinite possibilities before the reality of November and settling sets in. We are gung ho. We are September.

I don’t ever remember having a dreaded feeling to the start of a school year, not at least until I became a teacher. I remember the shopping trips in early August for new school clothes and the crispness of pleated plaid skirts and white shirts, pressed khaki pants and jean skirts, jelly bracelets and bows for my hair. And one September I was a model. I modeled “back to school” clothes at our local Belk. I had my hair done and makeup from the makeup counter. It was the best “back to school” event I ever went to. I thought I was a superstar. I was about 6.

I’m not six anymore and I don’t have a fresh new wardrobe, I’m a teacher after all on a teacher’s salary, but I have my September attitude in my heart and on my face. I’m excited this year for the beginning of things. I can’t wait to see my kids, to see how they’ve grown, to see what challenges they still face. I can’t wait to see their fresh faces, faces that mimic the happiness of beginnings, of new, of unknown, of structure, of safety.

I get to be a kid in my job. I get to sit like a pretzel and open books and open worlds and open minds. And I get paid to do it. I’d do it for free if could. It’s September, officially, and the kids come in 4 more days. Here’s a wish that the small faces I see are smiling back at me because my smile has already begun. I can’t wait to totally adore some children for another year!




* and I guest posted over here again