What Will You Create Today?
Happy Back to School! Or for some of us, Happy Almost Back to School! The summer days are waning whether we are teachers, students, parents, or have no direct connection to going back to school. The signs are all around us; and even if we're not a part of the back to school count down this year; once upon a time, we all have been a part of the buzz of getting ready for that first day! We traditionally think of New Year's Day as a new start; I don't know about you, but many a new year has dawned to see resolutions slowly fall away as the calendar pages turned. So as I am preparing for back to school time and traveling through the aisles of new supplies, new shoes, new clothes, the latest style backpacks and lunch boxes, the word "new" echoes throughout the day!
As a child, I always looked at each new school year with anticipation and excitement, knowing that some things might be familiar but there were many new things ahead. When it came time for me to send my own kiddos off to school, I experienced that first day of school from a different view. Now, I see it from the teacher's desk and even after all the years of first days I've experienced as student, parent, and teacher; each year holds the promise of something new! Butterflies fluttering deep inside can be powerful because they send us into that world of something unknown, but of many possibilities as well; and no matter our age, the journey into that world can be something extraordinary in what otherwise would be a routine, ordinary day!
Do you remember getting on the school bus for the first time; or being dropped off at school by a parent? Scanning the crowd for a familiar face, for a friendly face; somebody who might take your hand, or at least walk by your side as you plowed your way through the crowds and the hallways on that first day. For me it was my mom handing me a mint condition cigar box from my dad filled with the big fat pencils and Crayola box of 8 colors, big fat crayons; for kindergarten all supplies seemed big and fat; maybe it was to give up something to really grasp onto and hold onto for dear life as we rode the waves of this new journey. And thinking back, for me, even though she had aired it out for days, maybe it was the faint cigar smell of dad that gave me a bit of comfort. So in my red plaid dress with the big white round collar edged in lace and my supply box under my arm; off I went walking the two blocks to get to school. I walked up to the edge of the playground, heart beating in my ears so loud. And then all of a sudden there he was! My cousin, two months my senior, would be joining me in kindergarten, just like a brother to my only child status, he walked by my side and we would stay that way for the next thirteen years until we wore blue caps and gowns and headed off for college and real life; suitcases and boxes packed with all the things we learned, things to give us that lifeline like those big fat crayons, and with all the memories we created over those school days.
So even if you might not be getting ready to head back to school, your own children far from those first days, what will be new in your day today? Adventures, friendships, a book, a new coffee flavor, clothes, or even a new box of crayons; while I could ask what goals, plans, or resolutions you will make today...instead I ask you on this 20th day of August, "what will you create today?" It's a blank canvas and whether you have that coveted box of Crayola 64 crayons, with the sharpener, or are simply armed with an idea, dream, wish, or plan; don't hesitate, seize a moment or two for you and make your mark on this new day!