September 4 - New School Year

The year begins when school begins. Then the big orange-colored school bus scurries like a beetle along all the country roads, pauses long enough to gulp down the children, and is gone. ~ Rural Free: A Farmwife's Almanac of Country Living, Rachel Peden

Today is the first day of the new school year.  I woke up at 4 am this morning and it's still dark now, but soon I'll hear children talking and giggling past my open doors and windows as they walk to the elementary school, two blocks away. 

I remember every year my Dad would wake us up on the first day of school singing "School days, school days, dear old golden rule days" and would make us a special breakfast to celebrate.   His birthday was September 5th which often coincided with that first day of school.  Tomorrow he would have been 90 years old.  Happy birthday, Dad.

And then there were all those years I was up early to make John's breakfast and lunch and then waking up little boys to get them ready for school.  New clothes, new lunch boxes, new back packs filled with new pencils and notebooks.  

I am grateful for schools and children and teachers.  And memories.  And new beginnings.