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School daze

By David M. Fortier

Walking home from church on Sunday, our gang stopped to chat with the pastor and the school principal.

The principal was loaded down with school stuff, and he was happy. The school is next door to the church.

It was inevitable that someone would pop the big question.

"Are you ready for school tomorrow?" I don't remember exactly who asked the question, but I think it might have been the smiling principal. But, come to think of it, the pastor was smiling too.

Haphazardly, the answers came.

They run the gamut from, "I can't wait."

To "Are you crazy?" I'd rather be sleeping?"

It's always nice to chat after church.

The real question for us over the years has been, "Can you ever really be ready for school?"

For instance, four of us got back from the from Wal-Mart and some last minute grocery shopping at Shaw's at 9 p.m.

Then there is the great dividing up on the living room floor.

That still leaves shopping tomorrow night for the other two.

The only one who is not in the midst of some pre-school shopping crisis is the oldest, Nick. He leaves mid-September for Boston. Tonight he is at Borders with a friend. He thinks that he is going to buy a book about caring for bonsai trees. That is his idea of last minute shopping for college.

Nice, a frappacino and a book about a bonsai tree.

Very nice.

The real trauma in getting ready for school these past years—I don't bother counting how many—is that the youngest children have to finish their summer reading.

They have to read four books and write summaries.

Already tonight I have been scolded for assigning the wrong book to one child.

I have another child's diskette with her summaries waiting to be printed.

Two others are somewhere near done, but "nearly done" is somewhat relative.

It may mean a rough draft needs to be rewritten.

Or, on the other hand, it may mean that someone has to read two more books.

Someone says, "Why not just get on line and get into the web site Sparknotes for a summary?"

And someone else says, "Because, maybe, the assignment was to read the before writing a summary."

A parent's job is never done.

In this case, I wish it started two months ago so that the summaries were done, and we could go out for a Sundae to celebrate the new school year.

We, in this instance, referring to Mary and me, while all the little ones are tucked in their beds, images of blackboards filled with formulas dancing in their heads.

Maybe next year!

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