Writing Resources from Fifteen Minutes of Fiction

The Mixed Blessing of School

"It's the most wonderful time of the year!" So says one notable store mere weeks before school starts. Pictures of parents dancing in the aisles while the young children mope solemnly behind. As a parent, I find that there is some truth to that. But perhaps for different reasons.

Summer is a very busy time in my home. Between camps and outings and trips to grandma's, there are people going everywhere. The only one who stays where he is, is me. While my son goes to his grandmother's house, almost five hours away, for the summer, my daughter and wife are busy with camp for the district. Sometimes spending up to three weeks away from home.

At the end of August, though, I get my family back. We settle back into the routine of the same-old, same-old. Days get shorter and the weather gets cooler. The family comes together to help each other with homework or to just be together.

This year, though, this parent looks to the beginning of the school year with mixed feelings. This year, my daughter becomes a senior. This year, she begins to prepare for life after high school and, yes, after parents. My baby girl begins to prepare for life as an adult.

I find myself beginning to remember the song "Sunrise, Sunset" from "Fiddler on the Roof", where the parents let go of their children with the thought, "I don't remember growing older, when did they?"

As a parent, on the far end of the school experience, I urge those of you just beginning your journey to cherish the time with your children. You hear it many times, yet the saying is painfully true. One day you turn around and your children have grown up in mere seconds.

This year, I think I'm going to hope it goes slowly.

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