September in Reality

Let’s take a stroll through memory lane shall we?
Do you remember September when you were a kid? Ah, the start of the school year. You had brand new erasers, new pencils, and don’t forget those markers that smelled like licorice or cherry! Ah, I can smell them now! You stepped on the school bus in your new shoes and your hair just so. You scanned the seats to find your BFF and of course she has saved you a seat. You sit down and giggle with glee that you are now the oldest ones in school and can finally pick on the 4th graders! You compare outfits and make sure you both have everything in place. As you get off the bus at school, you smell the smell of fall approaching. You get to your class and sit in your seat. YOUR seat for the entire year! Of course your BFF is sitting right next to you. Not too far in the back because you don’t want to be labeled the bad kid, but certainly not in the front because you don’t want to be labeled the geek or four eyes! Your teacher comes into class and has a huge smile on her face and announces that this school year will be filled with lots of field trips and fun! RIGHT ON! So all the rumors that this was the teacher to get were actually true! Then HE comes through the door. The new kid in school! He came from California so his hair is blond and his blue eyes peer into your very soul. Then he has to sit next to YOU! As he takes his seat, he flashes you the whitest smile you have ever seen and suddenly you realize, all is right with the world!

Now. Here is reality:

You are grown up now. It’s September. You kids are yelling at you from down the hall because they can’t find their backpack/shoe/shirt/brush. You run into the room and find it on the floor because they couldn’t pick up the socks covering the item. You race out to the kitchen to try to make breakfast, but end up putting pop tarts in the toaster, again. Then you hear another scream from the next kid, why did you get this ugly back pack? All the kids are wearing Hannah Montana back packs and this one is, gasp, from Wal Mart! You have effectively ruined her entire LIFE! Your husband races out the door mumbling freedom at last while you are yelling at the kids to get on the bus because it’s pulling up RIGHT NOW! No time for lunches, you shove money in each of their hands as they race down the steps to get on the bus before it leaves. Ok, they are gone and you realize you only have 15 minutes to get to work, which is 25 minutes away! You grab your coffee and head out the door hoping that the pop tarts in the toaster didn’t get stuck and burn down your house. You drive in bumper to bumper traffic cursing everyone who cuts you off or doesn’t let you in. You arrive 5 minutes late to work, but realize you are the first one there anyway. Whew. Then you check your stats and realize that all the lazy people you work with have caused you to NOT get your bonus for the SECOND MONTH in a row!! There goes the pedicure you were DYING to get! Then I-always-have-a-smile-on-my-face Cindy comes bobbing into work and says “Happy Monday!” That’s when you realize, murder is against the law.