By Garret Leiva
Community editor
September 02, 2008 06:57 pm Today my thoughts and rusty Captain America lunchbox go out to every kid facing the big yellow bus reality that summer is over. As for you parents, try to keep those cartwheels to a minimum. While it has been decades since I last dodged spitballs on a bus, the first days of September conjure up back-to-school memories sharp as a #2 pencil. School is back in session. Perhaps this is why I cling to my first-grader's hand at the bus stop while she still lets me. Kids, this week you return to the world of "lefty" scissors, fractions and school-sanction torture known as gym class dodgeball. It is back to pencils, books and teachers' "I can't believe September is here" looks. Too bad you spent all that summer vacation alternating between "I'm bored" and "I'm so bored." Try not to dwell on those lost days of summer as you take your assigned seat. Oh, and watch out for those petrified nose goblins lurking under your desk. For me, going back to school after summer vacation equated to pulling a loose tooth. It was always a mixture of eager anticipation, a bit of bloodshed, dull pain and a toothy smile of relief. Of course, that was just the bus ride to school. Returning to school after a three-month summer hiatus, many students (and staff) find the only constant is change: classes, teachers, locker combinations and playground pecking orders. However, you can always count on one thing that subtle green stripe on the cafeteria hotdogs. Hopefully you also can trust friends to honor the "BFF" written by their name in last year's yearbook. Thankfully, the biggest back-to-school dilemma at our house is what Webkinz goes in the new Hello Kitty backpack. There is also the quandary of going with lace-up school shoes or sticking with Velcro. Although I know texting, Facebook and junior high is just a matter of time. No wonder my daughter says I squeeze her hand too tightly at the bus stop. Actually, this school year marks the start of full-time first grade. There will be no more frolicking through the fields of Thursdays-off kindergarten for our 6-year-old. I think someone will be in dire need for a nap come Fridays. Unfortunately, snoozing on a carpet square is frowned upon in the adult work world. While the weather forecast for this week embodies the dog days of summer, the calendar reality says otherwise. School is back in session. Sorry kids, it is time to grab those metal-free lunchboxes and make that trek to the end of the driveway. Today I'm still struggling with the idea of letting that little hand go at the bus stop. In a few years, however, I'll need both hands for those back-to-school cartwheels.
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Garret Leiva, Community editor