School Days, School Days, Dear Old Golden Rule Days (October 20, 2006)

   It was a beautiful, sunny day when my eyelids flipped open and I rushed out of my warm cozy bed.  My mom was calling to us from the foot of the stairs below, “Time to get up! Today’s the first day of school.”

     My brother Mickey was going into the second grade and he wasn’t nearly as enthusiastic as I was about summer vacation ending and school beginning.  I was starting kindergarten and I was ecstatic.

     I raced across the hall into Mickey’s room, “Hurry, hurry!” I said, “We can’t be late on the first day!”  Mickey groaned and rolled over. I headed to our bathroom; I brushed my teeth, washed my face and raced back to Mickey’s room.

     “It’s your turn in the bathroom. We’ve got to get going, come on now!” I said.

     Mickey opened his eyes, blinked a couple of times and said, “OK” and crawled out.

     I had my clothes all laid out, so it didn’t take me long to dress.  I ran down the stairs, across the hall and into my mom and dad’s room. Mom was standing in front of her dresser mirror combing her hair.

      “Can you fix my hair now?” I pleaded.  I climbed up onto her bed. 

      “Of course,” she said as she carefully unbraided my hair.  I loved it when she brushed through my hair, but I wasn’t too crazy about the comb racking through the tangles. 

      “Ouch, that pulls!” I moaned.

      “Almost done,” my mom said in a comforting voice.

     When she finished braiding my hair, we headed across the hall, through the living room, through the dining room and into the kitchen.

     “Can I have cornflakes?” I asked. 

       Mom said, “Of course you can.”  Mom got bowls out for all of us.

      While she was getting breakfast on the table, I ran back to the foot of the stairs and yelled, “Breakfast is ready, Mickey. Hurry!”

     Mickey came plodding down the stairs and joined us in the dining room. By the time we got to the dining room table, my dad had finished his breakfast, and was heading out the back door to get on his bike and ride to work.

      “Have a great day,” he yelled as he rode off down the driveway.

       I inhaled my breakfast--corn flakes, toast and juice--and said, “Let’s go! Let’s go!”

       Mom said, “Nola, calm down, we won’t be late. Go brush your teeth and go potty, and we’ll be ready to go. 

     Mom was as good as her word; they were waiting for me at the front door when I returned.

     We headed out the door and I ran to the sidewalk and started singing:

School days, school days
Dear old golden rule days
Readin’ and ‘ritin’ and ‘rithmetic
Taught to the tune of the hickory stick

     Mom walked with us that first day of school so she could meet our teachers and help us get off to a good start.  Fortunately for Mom and Mickey, the school was only three short blocks from home, as I sang all the way to school,  School days, school days…