A few people on facebook made note of taking their kids to school for the first time, and it got me thinking. Sam is actually in 3rd grade this year, which seems pretty unbelievable – school is already not a new thing for him. Isabel has been in pre-school since December and, quite honestly, I think that counts as school. She is not at home, she is not with us, and she is learning stuff. I’m really impressed, for instance, at how well she colors inside the lines. I didn’t master that talent until I was much, much older.
I started wondering, though, why school starts in September. It seems to be pretty much universal, so there must be a reason. It probably has to do with the cycle of agriculture but then, logically, it should start in late October, once the harvest is well and truly complete, but since I am not an expert on agriculture or the history of education, I’ll leave that little question aside for now.
Instead, I wrote this poem:
New born babies are one of life’s great joys
But, Jesus Christ!, they make a lot of noise
They cry, they poop, they poop, they cry, they cry
And there are moments when we wonder why
We thought it would be fun to reproduce
As we suffer through an earful of abuse
We eagerly await that golden day
When we can send the little brats away
Today, there is a cool and pleasant breeze
The leaves are brown and falling from the trees
It’s time to send the children off to school
That’s the schedule, the tradition and the rule
Every year we see the seasons change
We should not be surprised, it’s not so strange
The green of summer wasn’t meant to last
It fades into the sweet nostalgic past
It’s natural and always has been so
autumn is the time for letting go
www.gurukalehuru.com 
lovely poem…though sad.