Shhh!! Sit quietly and listen. Do you hear it? Can you smell it?
It is one of the most beautiful sounds in the world. The scent is oh so familiar.
Yes, it is the sound of school buses getting tuned up and ready to get those kids back to school.
The smell is the crisp, clean, new pages in those unused notebooks that will soon be carried down the hallways of schools across our fair state.
Someone once said that Thanksgiving should not be in November, it should be celebrated when the kids return to school.
I concur.
Now, stop looking at my picture like that! You know I love sons number one, two, three and sometimes even four. Just kidding about four.
But this summer has been long, it’s been full and it’s been fun. Now, it is time for this mother to have some time to herself for a few hours a day.
That’s right. All four of our boys will be attending school this year. The youngest is in kindergarten – full day!
Now, you know I will write a tear-jerking column the day he heads off to kindergarten, but stay with me while I indulge in a little humor for this time.
Have you ever noticed that your walls turn from white to slightly grey, almost a finger print-colored shade of grey, in the summer months when your children are home … ALL DAY?
Have you also noticed that your hair starts to turn that same color of grey around the forehead area?
It’s them. They are doing it. They can’t help themselves. It just seems they are attracted to dirt and they want to share it with us, all over the house.
If I don’t stop him, son number four will bring three frogs, one large ant and some dirty-looking stick that he found, right on up in my kitchen.
He says he was just exploring and wants to share his findings with me.
Now, I’ve learned. Now, I make him share his findings on the other side of the screen door.
“Good,” I tell him, “that looks great … now go put it back, thank you.”
Sons number one and two have long passed the outside puppy dog smell that little boys get. They come in from playing ball and smell straight-up like grown men – who have been working in the fields all day.
Why is it that that is the only time when they want to sit down right next to me and have a conversation?
I mean, the smell is so bad that my eyes start to water.
Poor boys. They just think that their mother is overly sensitive. They have no idea that I am about to cry from the stink that is rising from their armpits.
Thank goodness, they still love baths.
Yes, summer, good ole summer.
I love you, summer, but I must admit those back-to-school ads are looking better every day.
Have a safe and happy school year, kids and parents.
Thanks for sharing.