love is in the air...

love is in the air
everywhere i look around
love is in the air
every sight and every sound

love is in the air
love is in the air
oh oh oh


http://www.artst.org/images/illustration/large/george_cruikshank/11726798_The%20Ragged%20School%20%20West%20Street%20(Previously%20Chick%20Lane)%20%20Smithfield.jpg
The Ragged School, West Street (previously Chick Lane), Smithfield
by George Cruikshank


this time of the year makes me wish i were school aged again. there is an electricity in the air, an excitement, a new beginning, time for a change, a tiny bit of apprehension and unsettled nerves. it invades every corner, every person, every soul.

i always loved the first day of school. the butterflies fluttering endlessly in my stomach couldn't dampen the excitement of the first day of school.

when i was young, we didn't get a lot, we didn't have a lot. my dad provided for us, but our clothes were mostly hand me overs, and our art supplies were recycled office supplies from his office. but at school time we would get a few new outfits, a new pair of shoes, new undies and socks. back to school shopping was my favorite day of the year. we would walk around the store try on clothes, and scour the clearance racks. we would sift trough piles of notebooks, and stacks of pencils, and shelves and shelves of crayons and markers. i would carefully choose each and every item i would take to school with me that year. they always coordinated, and i would have to use those for a whole year, i wasn't buying no ugly school supplies. some years money was a little tighter than others, we would buy plain jane cheap-o folders and take them home and color and sticker them until they were a work of art. i would choose the perfect pink pencil box, and lovely smooth writing pencils. fresh new pink erasers, new glue sticks, and crayola crayons. no matter how tight the budget was, there was always room for crayola crayons, markers, and paints. i don't think we ever bought color products that weren't crayola. some things you just can't buy cheap. i would pick out a new backpack, if i was luckily a new lunch box too... and i would carefully unwrap all of my new supplies in the car on the way home. patience was never my strong suit.

i would lay all of my back to school bounty out on the couch, and admire them all piece by piece. including the new socks and underwear. i would then quietly play store by myself, until my mom would make me play with my little brother, when i would quickly switch to teacher and student, and i was always the one who got to boss the lowly student around. shocking i know, that i would want to boss anyone around.


i would lay out my first day of school outfit days in advance. jewelry, socks, undies, shoes, tights, and backpack lined up and ready to go awaiting that glorious new day.

mom and i would walk to the school they day they released the new class lists. i couldn't wait to see who would be in my class and what teachers i would have. some years i would shed quiet tears, and my mom would assure me that i would make friends, and would love my teacher even if it wasn't the one i really wanted, and all my friends were in another class. most years she was right. some years we would say a quick prayer and jump for glee at the excitement of my new class and that teacher i had heard so much about.

and the excitement would build and build, and grow and grow, until i could hardly sleep at night. and by the time that first day of school finally came, i could have exploded with excitement, nerves, and joy.


http://www.artst.org/images/academic/large/theophile_duverger/15143075_The%20Naughty%20School%20Children.jpg
The Naughty School Children
Theophile Emmanuel Duverger


and today... those feelings are still there.

as the air starts to cool, and the days get shorter, i feel that same excitement, nervousness, and joy. the air is filled with scents of footballs, and fresh number 2 pencils. soon it will be filled with burning leaves, harvest crops, and the crisp cool breeze of autumn. this time of year is a time of new beginnings, fresh starts, new hopes and dreams, new friends.

and i walk the aisles of stores and oogle the shiny new notebooks and folders and pencils and pens. i ooh and ahh over the fancy school supplies i never had when i was young, and can not resist the urge to buy some school supplies of my own. they smell so good. those aisles and aisles of school supplies pull me in every time. and i stand in sticker shock awe at the numbers flashing green in front of my eyes at the cash register. ouch. i don't remember school costing so much when i was a little girl. but i guess i didn't pay for them then.

this is my favorite time of year. and every year when it comes around i regret not majoring in education, i regret not following that dream i had since i was little girl. i am not a student, i am not the teacher i thought i would be, and still this time year touches every corner of being, makes me new, and fresh, and dreamy.

because there is just something about the smell of crayons and pencils, the feel of unused notebooks, and the sight of a new glue stick. there is just something about the fall, high school football games, and the shortening days. there is something about back to school time that awakens my senses, awakens my heart, my mind. there is something about back to school time that makes me feel alive.


http://imagecache5.art.com/p/LRG/7/788/SU2I000Z/robert-doisneau-paris-1956.jpg
Paris, 1956
Robert Doisneau

Comments

  1. Jennifer23:35

    I love school supplies. The semester April and I went to school together I made her walk through the pen aisle (I hate that word) at office depot with me. And I think Gaige gets embarrassed when I smell the crayons and pencils when we go school supply shopping, and sometimes I sneak a sniff of the playdough.

    Gaige started school today and Layla starts preschool on Thursday, I get so excited for them. For me though, that's another story at this point.

    love you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. jennifer,

    wish i were school supply shopping with you! gaige would really be embarrased with two of us sniffing supplies and playdough...

    horray to preschool for layla! i can't believe she is that old already... sad.

    ReplyDelete
  3. RoseArt is the worst.

    I wish I was in school.
    I wish I was in school instead of at work. I wish I could stay in school and only learn until the day I die.

    ReplyDelete
  4. You are a very good writer! Do you love that part in the movie with tom hanks and meg ryan where she says she likes bouquets of freshly sharpened pencils. I can't even remember what the movie is called.

    ReplyDelete
  5. life with kaishon,

    it's from you've got mail. one of my favorite movies of all times.

    ReplyDelete

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