It is hard to believe, but summer is rapidly winding to a close. Although the days have been hot and muggy of late, the evening air has that distinct hint of autumn to it that some people, myself included, simply love.
It also means the end of a fun-filled summer vacation as school officially goes back in session Monday, Aug. 31, for most students in the area. That has led to many groans and moans in our household as the carefree times of staying up late and sleeping in have come to an end for my children.
The week before school is what we like to call “transition week” in our house. That means our girls must start getting back in a routine of getting to bed and waking at a reasonable hour (which means before 10 a.m. for our oldest who loves to sleep in.)
It also means cutting back on all the technology and screen time that has been so prevalent with our kids, and I am sure many others, this summer. I’m not sure which will be tougher for our kids, as they are certainly a “plugged-in” generation.
Back to school is a different beast today than it was in the 1970s when I was growing up. Back then, the only thing I needed was a new T-shirt (preferably a Star Wars one), some new sneakers, a cool new lunchbox (the metal kind with a thermos) and maybe a “Trapper Keeper” to organize classwork.
Today, parents are sent home a checklist of school supplies that their child should have when they report to school. The list includes all the usual stuff, but also asks students to come with sheet protectors, glue sticks (because we can’t have children squeezing Elmer’s Glue out of a tube and “accidentally” gluing their fingers together), several different colored highlighters, three-ring binders and their own personal headphones.
In addition to the checklist, parents are also sent a list of items their student’s classroom could use, such as tissues, hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes and Ziplock bags.
When I was kid, the checklist was pretty simple — a couple of No. 2 pencils, a sharpener, and if you were lucky, a new box of crayons.
Waiting for the bus was a much different experience as well, as multiple kids gathered at one central location, usually at the end of the street, which meant walking a short distance from your home to get to the bus stop. Today, a bus driver picks a child up directly in front of their house, sometimes stopping every 20 feet.
These are different times, I understand, but one has to wonder how any of us ever survived our childhoods. And how much more extreme will things be when our children have kids of their own?
With the coming of school, so too has come a new season of soccer, football, cross-country and golf for area high schools. Fall sports are my favorite to cover because you are outside while the weather is still great — at least to start the season. By playoffs, though, it is a completely different story as I can still recall covering a soccer playoff in an early season snowstorm many years ago.
So get out and support your local schools as they compete this fall. Student-athletes like nothing more than to hear the roar of their fans to spark them on to victory.
Joseph Cyr is a staff writer for the Houlton Pioneer Times. His opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect that of the newspaper. He can be reached atpioneertimes@nepublish.com or 532-2281.
