Thinking About Back-To-School

The summer program has ended and the lure of colorful pencils looms ahead.

The back-to-school season is in full swing. I am collecting ideas, watching my children sleep late, and awaiting August 19th when for the first time in five years, my mornings will be completely kid free. What will I do with the time?

I was the Program Director for SPROG, Inc. this past summer. It was a great experience being the principal of a summer school. The kids all wove their way into my heart and are permanently sewed in. I am already planning great things for next summer when the program turns 40.

Even as I sit in the quiet of my SPROG office and finish up the remaining paperwork, listening intently to the still halls that once were full of 60+ youth voices, I wonder about the next phase. My son will be a sophomore at the high school, my baby will start morning kindergarten, and my other daughter will be in second grade.

There are parts of my year that are already taken up with helping my son navigate honors English and honors Chemistry. I think I better stock up on the Burundi and vanilla syrup, many sleepless nights are in my future. My baby girl is excited about being one of the bus stop girls and my other daughter is planning her fashion debut as one of the big kids. What will their mother do?

I am working on a middle school/young adult novel. The character, Hortence Owensby, just won't leave me alone. Perhaps she and I will spend some quality time together this school year as her story unfolds. I am also continuously adding pieces to my creative writing and poetry blog, Pink Latte Publishing, and I think I will just sit back and finish a book.

There sits on my desk at home a stack of books that I have been too busy to read this summer. The promise of a few quiet hours in the morning, sipping a nice cup of French Press, and traveling back in time through literature all sounds like a fulfilling fall.

Yes, as the cut-with-a-knife air of St. Louis ushers in August, as my wedding anniversary happens today, and as school shopping will consume my weekend, I think I will just take a moment and relax. The quiet will only be mine for a moment. Guess I better enjoy it all.