Yesterday as I was driving around the lake around 7:00 a.m. to meet my running partners for a run, I got stuck behind a school bus. I was running a little late but there was no opportunity to pass on the narrow road so I just had to chug along behind it. Since I had to stop every time the bus did, I started noticing the faces of the middle school age kids waiting for the bus. Several looked happy, expectant, and all spiffed up on this early Monday morning while others waited with hunched shoulders, with a look of dread or resignation when the bus pulled up.

A retro school bus sketch from my era...

I began to think back on my school experiences at that age and I have to say, my memories were mostly pleasant ones. You see, I always liked school and am thankful for parents who instilled a love of learning in me. I also do realize that part of the reason I liked school was that most classes came fairly easy for me...until I hit Chemistry and Calculus/Trig in late High school, that is!

The social part of school was also something I enjoyed tremendously. Though I am fairly quiet by nature, I have always made friends pretty quickly so I had a social group to hang out with. The hardest days of school for me were the first days in a new school! I changed schools four times in grade school...then came Junior High (what we called it in the old days!)...then a transfer to a big High School in a new district...and a move two weeks before the start of my senior year to a small town in Wisconsin. Just before I left Lake Stevens, our pastor's wife, Jeannie, shared a verse with me, Deut. 31:8, "The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you, He will not fail you or forsake you, Do not fear or be dismayed." In each transfer or move, looking back, I can see that the Lord went before me and helped me to connect with good friends.

I also recognize that coming from a stable home, with supportive parents, a good night of sleep, a nutritious breakfast, and home packed lunch had an impact on my school experience. Sadly, there are many children in our schools that have very unstable and disruptive home lives, with very little parental support. My heart goes out to these kids...what a tough road!

September always brings back memories of good times at school and even now, sometimes I just want to go buy a box of pencils and sharpen them! Remember that line from the movie "You've Got Mail" where Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) says he would send Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) a bouquet of pencils if he knew where she lived? I love that idea!

One of the blogs I enjoy reading, Talk of the House, just did a couple posts about decorating your home in September with school items....check it out!

A dear friend of mine is raising her grandson who is on the Autism spectrum. A day or two before school started, she asked him how he was feeling about going back to school. His response was, "I'm having second thoughts about it!" He makes me laugh!

How about you? Does school bring mostly happy memories or perhaps just relief that you don't have to go anymore?! In any case, I hope you are enjoying our crisp, cool September mornings that warm up to lovely early fall days of sunshine. Warmly, Gracia