Another new school year is here and I find myself continuing to teach. I retired from working in a school in 2011 but have not yet given up working with young people. I do my best to demystify mathematics for them whether homeschooling them or tutoring them in the evenings. I have limited the number of students that I am willing to work with this year because it seems that so many other issues are demanding my attention right now. Nonetheless I can’t seem to feel right if I am not using my skills even if only for a tiny bit of time each week. 

The start of the school year seems to come earlier and earlier each year but it is offset by more holidays and break times so I suppose that makes it okay. I still remember my own school days as though they happened only a day ago. I recall the first days of returning to the classroom hoping that some of my friends would be in the same class with me. I remember how nervous I was to find out who would be my teacher or teachers. I loved getting new shoes and a new lunchbox and of course new socks and underwear. Since I attended a Catholic school I did not have to worry about clothing because we all wore uniforms that were dull but did their duty. 

I liked learning and getting together with friends who did not live nearby me but I still felt a tug on the freedom and joy that I felt in the summertime. I was a free range kind along with my other friends and we tended to play together from early in the morning until bedtime at night. Back then there were lighting bugs that came out after dark. I haven’t seen such creatures in many years now. I wonder what happened to them and suspect that  they may have gone somewhere that is less inhabited than the big metropolitan area in which I live. 

I remember running around in my bare feet that picked up all the dirt and grime that I passed through in our games. My mother insisted that I wear shoes whenever I rode my bike because I might catch my feet in the spokes or on the chain and suffer a terrible wound. I believed her even though it did not make much sense to me. Otherwise I went shoeless for three months out of every year. 

We played so hard that we would sweat but somehow it never bothered me back then. I’d end every playtime with an accumulation of perspiration and dirt that made little beads on my neck that we called “Grandma’s beads.” We had lots of funny sayings like that and I always wondered who had first invented them and how they overtook the culture. 

I read now that it can be dangerous to drink water out of a garden hose but we kids did that regularly back in the day. My mother attempted to mitigate that propensity by filling a large thermos with cold water each morning that she set on a little table in front of the garage along with some cups for anyone to use. I was proud of her for being so nice to everyone. it seemed like a very grand gesture indeed but when we were down the street we generally went back to using the closest hose to parch our thirst. 

I can totally relate to the concept of being a baby boomer because there were kids everywhere in my neighborhood. I had two brothers but many of my friends came from families of six or more children. They had bunk beds lined up like barracks to give everyone a place to sleep in the evening. I was lucky to have my own room because I was the only girl. My brothers had to share a space which they did not seem to mind. Sometimes I was a bit jealous that I did not have a sister with whom to share my deepest dreams but there were plenty of girls who filled that need for me. 

When it came time for my brother’s birthday on August 17, I always became a bit glum because it meant that we were inching ever closer to the start of school. We never went back before Labor Day so we still had more time but those couple of weeks seemed to pass all too quickly before we were back to the grind of rising early, learning all day and doing homework at night. Ironically I had an easier time waking up in the summer than once the school bells began to ring. 

I often think of the teachers that I had and the many friends who went to school with me and feel as young as I ever was until I get a passing glance of myself in the mirror and see an old lady looking at me. It is incredible how quickly all those years went by. Now all but one of my grandchildren has graduated from college and is working and I’m still prepping for beginning a new school year next week. The circle of life just keeps whirring around and around.