Full Circle

“[T]hat old September feeling, left over from school days, of summer passing, 
vacation nearly done, obligations gathering, books and football in the air ... 
Another fall, another turned page: there was something of jubilee in that annual autumnal beginning, as if last year's mistakes had been wiped clean by summer.” 

Wallace Stegner, Angle of Repose

Blooms are fading.  

The sun is rising later and setting a little earlier.

Shadows and reflections are bending and rising,
dancing to a different rhythm.

Autumn is still weeks away, but for me summer is drawing to an end.
My beloved books are left laying unopened for longer periods of time.  The calendar
has come out of hiding; meetings have begun.  The voice of a new school year
 is whispering in my ear.

As a student, I loved everything about beginning a new school year... new clothes, new books,
new and old friends, and favorite teachers.

As a mother,  I always found the beginning of school difficult.  I was never ready
to give up time with my daughter.

As a teacher, I get excited thinking about the promise of a new year.
I suppose,  I've come full circle.