First Day of School...

I remember the nights as a child before the first days of school...

Sleep would not come as I envisioned a new year full of promise and possibilities. The new clothes were laid out for my early departure, the supplies were all branded with ownership, and the blank notebooks beckoned to be filled with wisdom and new-found knowledge. Nothing was better than the smell of a brand-new box of crayons!

Would this be the year I finally understand the math concepts that eluded me years prior? Would I have someone to eat lunch with? Hopefully no one else had the same sneakers as me...will I remember my locker combination? The new school year begins with the chaos of trepidation and excitement for all the unknowns, while simultaneously providing the reassurance of a schedule and order in our lives.

As an adult, these same feelings take hold once September roles in. Sadness for the end of summer and laments for all the plans not brought to fruition quickly fade to a time to begin anew. The French have a name for it ~ la rentree. Literally, la rentree is the beginning of the school year. I choose to look at it as "the re-entry." The re-entry to organization, schedules, the crisp autumn weather, and all the unknown possibilities the new year can hold. Garden beds are put to sleep, darkness creeps in a little earlier each evening, and my favorite sweaters come out from hibernation.

I spent the Labor Day weekend cleaning like a crazy woman in preparation of la rentree. Closets were purged, files shredded, floors washed, everything in my way sold on E-bay. (Incidentally, don't knock Ebay - you would be amazed at what some of this stuff went for...and me being the cheap frugal person I am, this was icing on the proverbial cake!)

For some folks, New Years Eve holds this same promise of possibilities and new beginnings. While I have been known to attempt resolutions, I find the ones created on the first day of school are the ones that endure. January is the same cold weather, a let-down after the festivities of the holiday season with too many months of cold weather on the horizon. The first day of school, however, is new...invigorating...fresh and full of promise as an empty notebook and a brand-new box of crayons.