school days

Is it just me, or does anyone else not envy kids when they have to go back to school? I've known former teachers who've said they miss the start of the school year and all that goes along with it. For people like that, you can tell that teaching is/was their passion in life, and I admire them for that. In Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren talks about finding a vocation in life for which you have a passion, and that's just what they've done.

I guess I looked at school as a necessary evil, something I had to have to get where I wanted to go in life. True, I didn't take it very seriously, and looking back on it I realize that. But, onward and upward, looking forward and not back......

Getting back into the school gear can be tough. Just ask Susie. She's been getting up "early" now for three straight days, and it's as if she's traveled from Australia and still has jetlag. Then there's Sara, whose lights-out-bedtime was extended by 30 minutes this year. She's having a tough time adjusting, between the later bedtime, a full day at school, then playing hard outside after school because of the beautiful weather we've been experiencing lately.

For teenagers, it's even tougher. Now, mind you, I'm not talking about any particular teenager; it could be any teenage girl experiencing her first year in high school (nod-nod, wink-wink, say no more). Between being nervous about finding classes, interacting with girlfriends and the occasional boyfriend, life can be downright tragic at times.

One of my favorite places to be is in the ocean at Myrtle Beach, and my favorite activity there is riding waves. Waves have taught me alot about living with 3 females and their emotional waves. There are good waves and not-so-good waves. Some are big and positive, and you can ride them all the way into ankle-deep water. Some are big, and cause you to wipe out; you may even break your board on severe ones. Others look good, but soon fizzle out. Then there are times when you wait and wait on a wave, and they just don't seem to come.

Back to school time is an adjustment time, a time when the waves are either huge or puny. When they're huge, they're either the kind of huge that you love or the kind of huge that you hate. However, the ocean (life) will soon be back to normal, and our normal lives will resume. When they do, we'll be able to look back at the end of each day and realize that the good waves and bad waves were pretty much even. We'll celebrate the good rides, and learn from the bad ones. Besides, it's not all that bad. I mean, Christmas break is just 121 days away.....