Freshly Sharpened #2 Pencils Ready To Go

So tomorrow is my son Zach's first day of school. He will officially be a 3rd grader. I can't believe it...he's growing up way too fast.

He was pretty excited and nervous throughout today. On one hand I think he is sad to see summer officially coming to a close but on the other hand excited to officially be considered a big 3rd grader. You see at Zach's school 3rd graders become the "cool kids" because they officially begin helping out the kindergarten class by being a "3rd grade buddy." Zach loved his 3rd grade buddy when he was in kindergarten and I know he is excited to be assigned his buddy for the new year. He is convinced he can do as great a job as his buddy Jeff did for him. I know he can too....but after all I am little biased.

Watching Zach get ready tonight I couldn't help but think back to my childhood and the nervousness that always plagued me the night before. Prepping my school supplies, laying out my spanking new clothes on the end of the bed and day dreaming about what my new teacher would be like. Back in those days I was a sucker for a pretty smile and big hair and my first formidable years somehow amazingly complied by offering up a couple of real cute teachers. That always seemed to help.

I remember my pencil box and the freshly sharpen #2 pencils. Oh the smell of those pencils mixed with the colorful scent of crayon and glue (paste I think they called it back then) somehow was intoxicating for a little kid like me. The night before the "big day" I probably opened up my pencil box about three dozen times checking and rechecking to make sure everything was just right.

Of course as a third grader I was still packing my lunch so I was armed with the latest Star Wars or Bionic Man metal lunch box. You remember those don't you? They always had some great scene that would instantly transform you back to the episode or scene in the movie. For a boy it was fodder that would easily carry you through the lunchroom chatter for the first month at least. That was until the lunch box lost its shine or, and this is more likely, the lead paint started to flake off. Oh the good old days.

These days kids are too cool to take their lunch. "Come on dad, I'm not a dork," Zach would inevitably say. Hell I still pack a lunch in a soft-sided Super Man lunch bag Kathy bought me last Spring. Love it! He just shakes his head when he sees me bring it home from the office.

Well I just looked in on Zach and he is sound asleep. He must get that from his mom because I would have still been wrestling with my excitement and sleep on the night before the first day was always hard to come by. I suspect that tonight I will be tossing and turning for him and in fact if his last three years of "night before the first day of school" is any indication then I won't sleep well tonight either.

Funny how I get still get jacked up for the first day of school. Hmmm guess I need to go find his pencil box and get a little #2 pencil smell fix. It's gonna be a long night!

Sleep well Zachary 3rd grade awaits. There is no doubt this will be an amazing year for you my son. Daddy couldn't be more proud.

Ripple On My Friends!!!

Steve