Kid Buzz (08-24-09)

On Thursday, August 20, 2009, the first day of the 2009-2010 academic year, I was buzzed. Buzzed on kids, that is. Filled with energy and good vibrations. Walking on sunshine, lighter than air. Adrenaline rush and cosmic high, all wrapped into one.

It was amazing, just how good I felt. I was like a kid in a toy store. I just couldn’t see everything fast enough, couldn’t stop myself from smiling, couldn’t stop to relax or reflect. I was in constant motion. I was buzzed.

I attribute much of this phenomena, which I call “kid buzz” to the fact that I work in a virtually empty building for three months out of each year. I’m not knocking our superintendent, or our custodians, or my secretary or any of the other people I worked with this summer. They were all great, and we accomplished much during the “break.” I use the quotations, because for us there wasn’t really a break…we all worked hard right up to the minute we held our first classes.

However, nothing can compare with the energy, the excitement, the sense of promise that accompanies grade school kids on the first day of school. And for me, the buzz was even more intense as our daughter Jocelyn started kindergarten this year. She has been literally counting down the days, marking them off her “Fancy Nancy” calendar in black crayon, in eager anticipation.

So from the moment I got up, I was around this buzzing, wired, enthusiastic kid, asking me if we can go yet. My son Nathan, who begins fourth grade was also excited, as he loves science, and there is no better place to learn science than in school.

My oldest daughter was beginning high school, another huge milestone. I suspect she was more nervous than eager, mentioning a worry that the seniors would “eat her.”

So even before I ever stepped in the school that first day, my house was alive with an intensity usually reserved for Christmas morning. Then, we arrive at school, and I was plunged into a reverie of hugs and high fives, of salutations welcoming everyone back with warm wishes for a great first day.

I helped out at breakfast and lunch, and we got through the kindergarten’s first exposure to our cafeteria. It was hectic and confusing, joyful and rewarding. I helped out during recess and watched the new third graders take advantage of their “field privileges” for the first time. The fourth grade immediately started a game of soccer as if they had never ended the previous game on the last day of school in May. I taught the third grade how to play ultimate football, and I had to sadly break the news to the fifth and sixth grade that yes, the rule of no touch football still applies (they never seem to remember that one!)

I took picture after principal pic, of kids hanging upside down on monkey bars, and giving each other hugs in the hallways. I tied the shoes of a first grader. I talked with each class about staying off the “sand pile” left by the asphalt crew and warned the young kids that the porta-potty currently used by the roofers, was NOT a playhouse.

The time just flew. Most people lament how fast summer goes, and in some ways I concur. But time in an almost empty building always seems to go slow. Only when the kids return does the clock begin to run, and run, and run. Time itself seemed energized by the presence of 150 young minds, and before I knew it, the day was done.

I couldn’t tell you what I ate for lunch, and I barely remember sitting down. When the last student left to calls of “See you tomorrow!” I took a deep breath and suddenly felt very tired. Kid buzz, like any other, drains you of energy as fast as it fills you up.

Of course, after a good nights sleep, I was ready to do it all over again, thankful to have a best job working with the best kids who give me the best kid buzz.