Column: Days, weeks, and months

The start of the school year is an exciting time.

There is something special in the air on the first day as kids make their way into a new classroom ready to meet their new teacher, see old friends, and make new ones. I’m sure not all of the kids really want to get back into the routine, but they settle in once they get into the classroom and the first week goes by.

As a parent, it is also an exciting time to get the kids back into a routine and out of the house. The summer most likely goes by a bit too fast for kids, but for parents it seems to be eternal, and many of us have been anticipating the first day of school for days, weeks, and maybe months.

It is going to be a blessing to come home and have the front room not look like a tornado went through it. There would be times we would get home and trash would be falling out of the can, dishes would be stinking up the sink, and there were so many glasses on the coffee table it looked like a family of 50 lived in the house.

We would leave a list of chores on most days, but the list would sometimes disappear, or not be read. On several occasions we looked through the front room window after pulling up a bit early from work, and it caused chaos. Everyone was waiting till the last minute to do their chores, and were not ready for us to come home early. They were running and screaming trying to grab a mop, broom, or vacuum. They are really great kids, but cleaning in the summer is not one of their better attributes. One time we pulled up after work around 5 p.m., and Shayla (9) was just hanging out in her pajamas with bed head. She told us that she didn’t plan on doing anything so there was no need to be dressed.

Speaking of being dressed for the day, we also had to tackle the task of school shopping.

When I was a kid, my mom would take me and it would be a simple ordeal. She would have me try on pants till we found the right size and then I would just get a few pairs. Same thing with shirts, sweaters, and coats. She used to try to get me to try everything on before purchasing it, but that would make me crazy and I refused. I would just give her a look and she knew better than to continually ask me to do this. She would make me come out of the dressing room and parade around the store like a mannequin had come to life. The look I gave her was plenty warranted. Shopping would take about half an hour once I stood up to all these unnecessary shenanigans.

It isn’t quite that easy with girls. When Melissa takes them shopping I know they may not be back for days, weeks or months. I like to participate in