Talk is in the air of the end of summer being here, but I haven’t really noticed. Guess it’s because this summer is different from the past 17 years of my life. School is not starting in three weeks. I don’t have to pack up all my belongings and move from the city I co-opped in to move back home. And the weather has continued to stay sunny and warm!
I was reminded that summer really was officially over this morning as I waited in traffic just to leave my apartment complex. I saw mobs of mothers and fathers, some still dressed in PJs, walking hand-in-hand with their kids towards the elementary school across the street. Some were even accompanied by dogs. Good-bye hugs and kisses were given. It was of course, the first day of school. For some, it was the first ever, clearly indicated by the proud father running with his handheld video camera.
Since I was pretty much stationary for what seemed like an eternity, I put my car in park and started to reminisce about my first days of school as a kid. I could just smell it in the air. The crisp cool fall weather, new clothes for the first day, brand new supplies. I would get both excited and nervous hearing the rumble of my school bus, just because I knew in a matter of minutes, I’d have to make that walk down the bus aisle trying to find a seat, maybe with a familiar face or maybe alone by the window. There’d be the usual chatter of things everyone did that summer and the showing off of new gear, generally in the back of the bus, where all the “cool” older kids sat. Some would engage in gossip talk, none of which really ever interested me. I was far too busy thinking about what my teacher would be like and seeing my friends again.
None of these kids had that bus experience though since they all walked. I stared at the young girl commanding traffic with her stop sign. You could tell she took her job quite seriously, and I suppose one like that would get picked for that type of role. Back in my day — yes, the aged woman that I am — we called them safety patrols. We got to wear cool orangey red belts that went across our shoulder and around the waist. I’m pretty sure I felt like I was kinda a big deal, ’specially since I wore the captain’s badge on mine and bossed the younger kids around. oOoOoOo. It’s funny to look back and think, “Gee, I really wasn’t that important.” I mean telling kids to walk instead of run? This little girl here commanding traffic doesn’t even get a badge or a belt for the matter, and she’s got children’s lives in her hands!
Anyway, I snapped out of my little day dream as it was now my turn to turn out of the complex. The crowd dispersed as I distanced myself from the school. Memories faded and it was back to the normal commute. Although I was irked with how much longer it took me to drive the whopping 2.3 miles to work, it did make me smile for a moment. When you’re so caught up doing your own thing, it’s sometimes nice to be interrupted that other life is happening around you.
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