Back to School

At the risk of being trite, and with the challenge of not being boring, it's that time of year for reflection.

Some people reflect at the end of the year, but for me "the year" always seems to begin fresh with the start of school.

I went to graduate school until and even after my kids were born, so except for a few short years in my early 20s and a few more between MBA and kindergarten, school and "back to school" have been a part of my life forever.

Monday is the start of school. We've had a nice long summer, and as the weather breaks and the rain falls gently, I know everyone is ready for a fresh start.

Back to school means back to schedules. Because I'm self-employed and work from my home, summer is a time when, if I choose, I can wake early, go to work early, and literally have five or even six hours in before one of my kids comes in to my office, rumpled and sleepy, and says, "Good morning, Mom." then "What's for breakfast?"

Once the "What's for breakfast?" starts, family responsibilities kick in and my focus has to shift. Once school starts, and breakfast comes early, the nature of my entire day shifts. I might get in a check of email and the completion of one or two things early, but breakfast, and football practice, and last minute scrambles for homework and permission slips and the search for a pen or that favorite clean shirt begins, and work just isn't happening until "a little later."

By necessity, when school starts, my work day starts and ends later. Sometimes much later.

But there is good in all things, and part of this schedule shift means I actually will be more accessible to clients on the other side of the world. I have two great clients in Australia right now. Their tomorrow morning starts in the late afternoon Texas time. (Don't think about it too hard.) On my summer schedule, that time of day rolls around and I'm wiped out, often having been at work for eleven or twelve hours (off and on) by that time. When school starts, that will correct itself.

So despite my distaste for schedules, back to school is a good thing. In far more ways than one.

Although I love having the kids around and we've been in a good groove this summer, everyone is ready for a change.

Amazingly, my kids seem to have burned out on video games. One son's xbox broke, and this, formerly a cause for major concern and panic, has allowed him to do other things, like play the guitar six hours a day. Now, before you say, "how quaint," please know that, although we do live in Texas, country strumming on a six string is not what's coming from his room. He's a rock guitarist with an amp, and there's no folkabilly, "easy listening to write by" stuff going on. That's not to say that what he's playing isn't good or catchy or even entertaining. He likes 80s rock -- good old Lynyrd Skynyrd and Black Sabbath, as well as alternative rock, and lately, television theme songs (next time you see "King of the Hill," think of me). There are enough doors between us that I can almost tune it out, but on days when he's learning something new, it can be trying. But persistence pays off. Six hours of guitar playing a day can make a kid pretty darn good. I'm not complaining.

My other son informed me the other day that he had put his game system up a week or back. "It's in my drawer," he said. I'm not playing it. Since his isn't broken, I'm not sure how long this will last, but he's filled his time with work, baseball and ESPN on TV, running around in the golf cart, and MySpace. I would call it a shift in the right direction.

School also means curfews and bed times and alarm clocks. It means dinner at a decent hour (not 9 p.m. after convenience store snacks have run out and Mom's back from tennis or Dad's done in the garage). It's the start of a new year.

I'm ready. We've done the back to school shopping. With boys, it's easy. I go to the mall, to stores they've specified, take cell phone pictures of t-shirts, mail them in for approval, then buy them. Sizing can be difficult, but this year I hit the mark. Dylan is happy with his five new shirts and football tote. I went 2 for 3 on Tanner, and we're hoping for "less scratchiness after washing" on one shirt. Both boys will need shoes -- usually an expensive venture, so always a last minute, lest their feet grow AGAIN, shopping trip. Yep, we're just about ready for back to school.

I'm ready for my fresh start, and I thank God for another really enjoyable summer.

Back to work!