One of my favorite movies of all time is You've Got Mail. I so love that movie. I'm not sure what it is about the movie that draws me. But at the beginning of the movie, Meg Ryan's character comments on how she loves fall and the smell of freshly sharpened pencils. Or something like that. Kids returning to school is a sure sign that fall is around the corner. My kids start school on Monday and tonight was Meet the Teacher night. Seeing all of those kids lugging in their backpacks full of school supplies, and their parents carrying the excess, reminded me of that particular moment in the movie.
The kids are so excited to start school again to see their friends and parents are excited to send their kids back to school. I too use to love going back to school for the same reasons. But I also liked going back to school, because for me it was the start of fall, my favorite season. I grew up in New England and there is no better place to be than New England in the fall. Living in Texas, we do not really have a fall. Oh, it cools off a little but it is not the same. There isn't that crisp smell in the air or the crunching of leaves under your feet when you walk. There are no vibrant reds, yellows and oranges along the roads. I miss the start of hunting season and the signs advertising a Hunter's Breakfast at the local high schools or local churches. I miss seeing all of the hunters decked out in hunter orange. I miss seeing kids jumping in the piles of leaves and messing up their parents hard work. I miss the faint smell of wood smoke in the air. I miss....all of it.
I'm glad for the start of a new chapter in my kids lives but it is also bittersweet. It makes me very homesick. I start thinking of all of the other things I miss (like the first snow or the crunch of snow under my feet) and I question if living here is the right choice. My entire family is in New England and they are missing out on such an important part of my kids lives. Don't get me wrong, I do not walk around in a depressed state! I am actually very upbeat and love living here! But this time of year is the hardest for me. I have made a good life here, but where I grew up will always be where my heart is.
