New Year's Comes Twice

It's about this point in the year that I want to watch "You've Got Mail" with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. The opening scene is set in early autumn, when kids just wait on the end of summer vacation to jump into yet another school year. In one of the e-mails Hanks writes to Ryan he pens the letter with quirky mentions of back to school gear... such as a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils, which I will admit, I would love one as I'm getting my classroom ready again for my second year.

I love this time of the year. When the days shorten just slightly. The trees begin to partake of other hues on the color pallet of nature. And Wal-Mart has two huge center isles erected as a monument to remind America that their young ones need new sharpies, post-it-notes, and Lisa Frank notebooks. Back to school time is here!

There's something to be said about that bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils. It gives individuals ages five to eighteen a sense of hope, that this year will be a fresh start for their lives. And being a school teacher, it gives me the same sense of hope. That this year will be a fresh start, something different, something more... and I'm so stinkin' excited about it!!!

It's like New Year's, but a few months early. The excitement of something new starting, an adventure all waiting to happen in 180 school days. The wondering of what new alliances or long lasting relationships will be formed. What enemies or obstacles will stand in your way, and how you will become stronger by overcoming them. Then of course there's the promise of self-reform, that the old ways of the prior year will go out the door along with the questions and doubts. You see, for those of us "lucky" (and I mean that!) enough to go back to school, it's like New Year's comes twice. And I can't wait for the "New Year" to begin!!!