First Day

 The first day of school is always a strange amalgam of excitement and fear. Will I like my new teacher? Will my new teacher like me? What will third grade be like? Will it be harder than last year? And usually by lunchtime, most of the fear has gone, but the excitement lingers. Kids meet out on the playground to discuss with their friends and siblings how things are going. Then the reality sets in as the bell rings and everyone realizes that there is still an afternoon to get through.

But the celebration doesn't really end. That first day still has so much getting to know one another in it that a party atmosphere continues even as workbooks are handed out and desks assigned. This is all new. Those pencils and erasers are gifts at this point, not tools. The classroom rules feel fresh and new, boundaries presented for future opportunities and exploration. 

Families reunite when that first day is over, brothers and sisters connecting once again, carrying new backpacks and hugging parents they have not seen for more than six hours. Sure, there are a few kids in tears, mostly from relief after the shock of all that new. But mostly a lot of smiles and eager anticipation for what is to come.

The next one hundred seventy-nine days. When the actual work begins and those workbooks that seemed like prizes gifted pencils become tools. The day to day business of education sets in. Moods shift and tempers flare. There will be moments of sadness and regret mixed in with all the discovery and challenge that encompass a school year. 

Which is what I was thinking as I watched the inauguration of our forty-sixth president. All that pageantry and performance. Even the weather cooperated. That first day, so full of promise, hope, anticipation. And then the work of education, defense, commerce, public health and all the rest begins. There will be plenty of tears and a good share of frustration ahead. Long division is hard, and so is bringing a country back from the brink of Constitutional Disaster. 

Because it's not really the first day with all the songs and sharing of materials. We're really going to get to know each other now. Buckle up America, it's going to be a bumpy ride.