I’m just back from the coast. Apparently, Calgary had lots of sunny weather. Vancouver Island had lots of rain. Good thing I like rain.
There was fishing, wiener roasts and walks in the rain. Some days, the sun came out and there was swimming. Mostly, we all relaxed a lot. Slept a lot. Read a lot. And we did a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle. Liz was determined to complete the thing and she put in the last piece before we finished packing up the cabin on Sunday. Then it was back to the ferry for another trip across the Strait of Georgia. As usual, we took two days to drive home.
Now, back in Calgary, it’s still warm, but the leaves are beginning to change. Our lawn needs watering and I still have to unpack, but I’ll do that later. Right now, I’m excited about the new book I’m working on so that’s what I’ll spend time on this morning.
I don’t have any children going back to school this September, but September still seems like a time of going back, getting ready, starting new.
One of my favourite memories of back-to-school is of when my mom took us to McKay’s Corners to get school supplies. I always wanted a new eraser. A brand new never-before-used eraser, even though we had plenty of erasers available at home. I remember looking forward to school—to walking down the gravel road, kicking through autumn leaves and returning to the one-room schoolhouse. Grades 1 to 8 were all in that room. I went there until I finished Grade 5 and then I went to school in the town.
However, my first five years stay with me. Long rows of desks, pull-down maps, chalkboards, few textbooks, a big wood-burning stove in the back of the room. And each September, there were new workbooks, new pencils, and a new eraser.
Do you have a favourite memory of returning to school in September?
chalk from istockphoto #000013770837