Sometimes it is a little hard to say good-bye to summer and vacation. Even though I am no longer in school myself, 32 years of continuous education are hard to let go of. I find myself envying teachers who still get the summers off (even if they pay for it financially). I am launching two children into back-to-school mode tomorrow complete with new pencil boxes, backpacks and spiral notebooks. It is a bonding experience to be in office supply stores the night before school starts with all the other worn-out looking parents.
This summer, as my Blog and pictures attest, I have been in two foreign countries, and three states besides the one I live in. Sometimes the contrasts were dramatic. The Pacific Northwest Coast is a far cry from Las Vegas and the national parks of Utah. So you might ask, am I sufficiently spoiled to wish I didn't have to go back to work and the routine chores of getting two children off to school, after school activities and monitoring homework? The answer must be, yes! It is not just a fear of work after all. It is maybe even more a fear of winter. Yes, winter hits hard and fast here in the midwest and lasts far too long. Sometimes I think I can feel my mood sink as fast as the sun starts setting on the shortened days.
Well, seasonal affective disorder keeps me in business winters. As does school phobia, bullying, shyness, short attention spans, anxiety and other symptoms of the back to school season. Two wishes I have in my clinical practice are: (1) Insurance companies would pay for winter trips to the Carribean for people with documented seasonal affective disorder. (2) School could be a kinder, gentler place for children. Yes, I might be a bit less busy at work but wouldn't we all be a little bit happier?
Now back to household obligations. . . .
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