There is something about the Back to School season that is particularly nostalgic for me: getting organized, fresh calendars, the thrill of new schools supplies, particularly newly sharpened pencils and blank notebook pages waiting to be filled with notes, the proof of acquired knowledge.  There are the mixed emotions of excitement of finding out who will be in your class with the nervous anticipation of who will be your teacher.  My children describe this combination of feelings as “nervousited.”  As I watch my children march through the school doors with their carefully packed lunchboxes, sports bags, and backpacks overflowing with text books, I feel envious. 

But it’s more than my mourning the passage of time.  It’s the feeling that this is the point in the year when I, too, should be embarking on a path of education.  Summer is over and now it’s time to get serious about learning something new.  Instead, I pepper my children with questions about what they learn each day to which I most often receive the reply “nothing.”  I know that to be false, and it makes my curiosity burn even more fervently. 

There is no reason, though, that any of us should have to rely on pulling teeth to find out what other people are learning.  Back to School doesn’t have to be reserved for those attending elementary school through college!  It’s a concept – an awareness that now is the time to seize upon that idea you had to learn something new.  Take classes to acquire useful skills like cooking or sewing.  How about learning Kung Fu or a foreign language?  Is there something you’ve just always wanted to be able to do, like play a musical instrument or sing?  Now’s the time to go for it!  Even if you are staying home due to COVID-19 or can’t find a class locally, there are numerous teachers and programs available online to learn any of these skills.

Keep your tradition of September stimulation alive - take back this season of opportunity and make it your own.  At the very least, you’ll enjoy learning something new, but you might find that an additional door opens to you, leading you down an exciting, adventurous path you never imagined!