Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Jane: Most Wonderful Time


Do you remember that Staples ad, with the dad dancing with his shopping cart down the school supply aisle to "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" and the kids walking morosely behind?

I love that ad!

Apparently, it's a favorite of others, too. You can still watch it on You Tube.

I always sing that song to my children in the stores as I skip along behind the cart. This year, they good-naturedly swatted me with their school supply lists. Hey, they embarrassed me for many years; now it's my turn to embarrass them!

It is a wonderful time of the year. OK, granted, summer is over, and that always makes me a little sad. And it's not that I don't enjoy their company--I am really glad to have summers at home with them. Even this summer, when they went off with their buddies to the pool instead of with me. We slow down the pace, get away from the high intensity of the teaching and learning business, and just hang out together. And they're really great companions.

But I was feeling especially glad about the begining of the school year this year. Maybe it's because the college started up before their school, and I've been skittering back and forth between two roles: summer stay-home mom and professor Jane. Maybe it's because I did the Poynter workshop, and I'm eager to start working on what I learned about teaching multi-media. I guess I could have worked on some of that stuff while they were home, but the summer ambiance of idleness and interruption makes it hard to really dig in.

So now that they're off at their very first day of the school year, I'm really excited about buckling down to work. They'll be doing their work of learning. I'll be doing my work of writing, teaching . . . and learning, too. It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

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