Never Going Back...

The Edison Eagle

Recently I was forced had an opportunity to revisit my old high school. Not that it was something I WANTED to do, but I HAD to do it. My son's soccer team was playing a game there. No big deal really, I actually thought it was kinda "funny" that he would be playing there. And then, the weekend came, the time was here, I would be going back to the school that I went to for four years out of my young life. Those four years that are supposed to be "the best years of your life". I was feeling...I don't know, apprehensive? I can't quite come up with the right word, so I looked it up. And this is what I found...

uneasy, worried, nervous, fearful, hesitant, frightened, concerned, angst-ridden, anxious, afraid, doubtful, jittery, jumpy, suspicious, uncertain, uptight, alarmed, butterflies, disquieted, foreboding, frozen, get vibes, have a hunch, have cold feet, have funny feeling, have stage fright, hung up, in a cold sweat, in a dither, in a sweat, jellyfish, lily-livered, mistrustful, running scared, scaredy-cat, shaky, stiff, troubled, weak, worried sick

Yep, that sounds about right, even in a dither, jellyfish, lily-livered sounds right.

High school was NOT the "best time of my life", in fact, it was a very hard time for me. Hard in every way imaginable. I was not a great student, I was not in the popular crowd, I was not a 'jock', I was not a 'burn out', 'nerd' or 'theater geek'. I was nothing, I was 'unlabeled'. I did not get asked to dances. I was awkward, taller than most and just awkward, I was invisible.

My locker was halfway down on the right (photo taken from the old "smoking section")

But, before I go too far into my pity party, I DID have some good friends that did have some of those labels and did get invited to dances, and weren't so silly looking. And they are still some of my closest friends to this day. I was in every way included in their lives.  And truth be told, I really did have some fun times. There were pep rallies, football games and there were some activities I was a part of.

Student section of the bleachers

So, I made the trip back to the high school that I graduated from many a few years ago, and I think I experienced each and every one of those adjectives listed above.

However, the school has changed so much in appearance that I found it difficult to "see my past" in those halls. Gone was my locker, gone was the "smoking section" that I had to walk through to get into the school, :)  but also gone were the bad memories. I actually remembered the happy times that were experienced there. I was able to see the school for what it was and what it is. And that is, a new beginning for students on the brink of their independence, ready for the best years of their life!

"And I'm never going back

To my old school"

"My Old School"

-Steely Dan

Joining Kathy at "You'll Shoot You/re Eye Out" for Song-ography.
Where song + photo = song-ography
check it out, some great and creative folks over there!

Onward Eagles!

Smile~
Kim

Bittersweet...

This is a time of the year that I normally look forward to, the school year is almost over which means the “routines” are going to change a bit. No fighting with the kids each morning to get up and get moving, no homework, no last minute “oh yeah mom, I need a 3x4 foot trifold board for our project tomorrow” at bedtime. Ahhh, I can actually feel the slow release of tension from my shoulders.

But first there is the end of year parties, the teacher gifts, the final tests, the awards ceremonies, the school carnivals…

You see, my youngest is finishing his 5^th grade year…or as he puts it, he is graduating from Elementary School.  There seems to be an extraordinary amount of planning for this event. And as is typical, the same people have volunteered for this event as have volunteered for all of the field trips, parties, bake sales, festivals, etc since his Kindergarten year. I don’t know where the other families are at these times, or how they are able to ignore hide from the signup sheets, all I know is, I have seen the same parents volunteering for six years now. And I am going to miss these ladies (and men). We have watched our kids grow together, make friends together, get into trouble together, visit many local landmarks together and mature together.

As my son takes his final steps in elementary school this month, I too will be taking my final steps here as he is my youngest.

There are many things I will NOT miss about having an elementary student, but there are many things that I WILL miss. It is the lost innocence as middle school approaches, and the silly, small, milestones and celebrations that are just taken for granted in the later school years. The valentines mailboxes, the Dr. Seuss birthday celebrations, the 100^th day of school, recess, and the “mother’s day gift” art projects. Innocence.

So as these last few hours of the school year tick away on the clock so too does the  "baby" in my baby boy, he has become quite a terrific "young man".

Bittersweet...

 

Smile...
Kim

p.s. both of these photos are compliments of that brilliant "young man".