Word of the Week: Begin
I was born in the Fall, and so I feel the year begins not on a snowy January day, but on an orange-green September morning.
As a child, the new beginning was marked by the smell of new shoe leather and the pain of the blisters that scraped my heels on the walk to school.
It was in the smell of new wooden pencils
and the feel of chalky pink erasers,
and the itch of new school clothes against my skin.
It was in the getting used to the status of our new grade, our new teacher, and each other
...and noticing how we'd all grown and changed over the summer, and who was missing, and who was new.
In high school, my walk every day was more than a mile long, and the streets were planted with eucalyptus trees. Their fragrant leaves dropped early and crunched under my feet.
Even today when I smell eucalyptus, I am transported back to being a teenager. It's early morning, cool and crisp, and I'm on my way to school.
I'm crunching eucalyptus under my feet, and admiring the changing colors in everyone's yards. The morning light is orange, too.
The soundtrack is something by The Cars: Bye Bye Love, or Best Friend's Girl, or Let the Good Times Roll -- whatever I'd heard playing on the radio as I'd dressed for school that morning.
I'm metamorphosing from child to adult, and even as I play at it, I'm about to begin, but I don't know it yet.
How little I know of the beginnings to come!
For more reflections on the word of the week, Begin, visit these amazing artists on their blogs today; I truly do not belong in this distinguished company -- go visit!:
As a child, the new beginning was marked by the smell of new shoe leather and the pain of the blisters that scraped my heels on the walk to school.
It was in the smell of new wooden pencils
and the feel of chalky pink erasers,
and the itch of new school clothes against my skin.
It was in the getting used to the status of our new grade, our new teacher, and each other
...and noticing how we'd all grown and changed over the summer, and who was missing, and who was new.
In high school, my walk every day was more than a mile long, and the streets were planted with eucalyptus trees. Their fragrant leaves dropped early and crunched under my feet.
Even today when I smell eucalyptus, I am transported back to being a teenager. It's early morning, cool and crisp, and I'm on my way to school.
I'm crunching eucalyptus under my feet, and admiring the changing colors in everyone's yards. The morning light is orange, too.
The soundtrack is something by The Cars: Bye Bye Love, or Best Friend's Girl, or Let the Good Times Roll -- whatever I'd heard playing on the radio as I'd dressed for school that morning.
I'm metamorphosing from child to adult, and even as I play at it, I'm about to begin, but I don't know it yet.
How little I know of the beginnings to come!
For more reflections on the word of the week, Begin, visit these amazing artists on their blogs today; I truly do not belong in this distinguished company -- go visit!:
Comments
Blessings,
Christine
Micki