Today, we saw our daughter off to school, the first day of a new school year, her first day in second grade. It's a big day for us, and there was an expectant, festive mood in our house this morning.
My daughter was pretty cool about the whole thing. She's been through the deal before, and she had her outfit all picked out. But it was a big deal for my wife and me, who were among many parents milling about the school, acting really excited, snapping pictures, seeing their kids off ... marking another small milestone in the family history.
The whole experience snapped me back to my first day of first grade, back in the early '70s. It's a day I still remember with clarity. My folk were pretty conservative, and they always kept my brother and me looking that way - short hair, etc. When I walked in to my classroom of first grade at this all-boys school in New York City, I saw a slew of kids with long hair that was so in at the time, and I thought, gulp, they were girls! I remember confronting my mother with this obvious betrayal - "you told me there would be no girls." She reassured me that, in fact, these were boys whose parents had different notions of length of hair. I calmed down, and, far as I know, had a pretty easy time adjusting - a lot easier than the nervous kid in the back who kept throwing up.
Anyhow, it's funny what you remember, even from 35 years ago. I wonder what my daughters will remember about their first days of school. I hope, whatever it is, they still appreciate what a big deal today is. Do you have any first day of school memories? If so, tell me about them.