Friday wrap up on the Back to School memories <3

Well Happy Friday!

Here in the Midwest we have had a little taste this week of what much of the country has experienced most of the summer. It has been an inferno and neither we, nor the corn, beans and flowers are doing well. 

So as we wrap up the Back to School memoirs, I am reminded of a memory that was a great disappointment. Since I carry it with me still, you can see it had an impact on me. 

I don’t remember what grade it was, but am assuming it was second or third based on my other memories of teachers from first and fourth. 

Second and third grade for me fell when my father retired from his career in the Air Force. I know we moved from the housing on Offutt Air Force Base to neighboring Bellevue right after first grade.

I had lived on an Air Base my whole life, and being outside the fence and down the road was an odd and challenging feeling for me. 

I attended second grade there and then we moved to Louisville for my third grade year. The neighborhood school was being renovated from a fire so we attended half the year on an odd schedule, splitting the day with another school.

And then after Christmas we were in the other school. 

We moved to Danville for fourth grade, where I finished my pre-college years.

Hmmm…that was a rabbit trail, hope you enjoyed the journey. You might understand better at this point why I longed for our children to be born and raised in the same town… But now, on to my memory for today. 

Since my teachers and schools were all new during that season, I have just a few memories of buildings and such, but I do remember this one teacher starting our first launch into our Social Studies book with the idea that during our times in this subject we would be boarding a bus and traveling to a new place to learn about the people and customs and such. 

I remember she made quite a point of us all getting on this magical bus and I can tell you, I couldn’t wait for the next time we would be cracking open those books and taking off on a new adventure.

However, for whatever reason, the bus idea never made it past the first day.

For the rest of the year, there was no mention of a bus, or visiting someplace or anything beyond just reading the chapter, answering the questions and taking a test. 

I was so disappointed. 

And that is part of school and growing up and education. 

Learning how to press on and digging down in to be teachable when expectations are not met and teachers (and really all adults) let us down.

This too is an aspect of school and I think of how I probably didn’t articulate to my mom what a bummer it was that our teacher had abandoned the tour bus from the get go, but I am sure my mood reflected it. 

Also, I know this impacted me with our children and not starting something that I wouldn’t sustain. I felt the sting a few times when I would drop the ball, but I certainly hit more than I missed having had the experience myself. 

So here is a hug and a prayer for parents who are juggling a zillion things and trying to connect with a quiet child who seems bothered but can only answer “nothing” when asked what is wrong. 

Blessings for open doors where needed and extra hugs and love when nothing else seems to work. Prayers that as adults we don’t abandon ideas that motivate our children when we grow tired of them. And prayers of grace and mercy for all the times we wince at our humanity and tendency to not follow through <3