One More Bulletin Board

Withdrawal can be hard. Take it from someone who is not an addict.

When Katie was a baby, she would go everywhere with me. The first day I dropped her off at her pre-kindergarten class, I went shopping all by myself and went through a withdrawal of sorts. I rocked the wagon as if she was still in it and I talked to the boxes of food. To any other shopper that day, I must have looked like I lost my mind. Having a baby in the wagon before the cell phone was attached to your arm gave you permission to talk out loud without people taking a few steps away from you. With Katie in school, I had to learn not to talk to myself, something I didn't learn well since I still talk to the dog, the dishwasher, and any other piece of furniture along the way. At least, now, in the age of mobile communication, you can enjoy a walk down the street and have an animated, hand waving conversation. Sometimes complete withdrawal doesn't work. Norman often asks me who I am talking to.

When Katie was the last of my children to finish college, we were all done with back to school shopping. Talk about a well-ingrained habit formed over two decades of our kids' school years! The first year without a teacher list of supplies in my hand, I walked through Shop Rite and passed bins of colorful binders, three-hole punches, calculators, highlighters, cute erasers and packs of pencils. To an artist, these things are like toys. I love new pencils! Instead of passing by the bins and cheering, I threw a couple of college-ruled notebooks in my wagon. Maybe, maybe, someone could use them someday, Withdrawal is hard, even in this.

And then, yesterday, this happened for the first time in my retirement. September is approaching and I should be getting my classroom ready. As the art teacher, that often meant getting other teachers' bulletin boards ready as well. There are emails from Ranney that I simply can't resist reading, giving teachers their orientation schedules. This was always a hectic time with meetings on bloodborne pathogens to sit through, but I always found a new school year to be a joyous time and so optimistic. Fresh new September crayons and all that. When Sam announced that he was going in yesterday to hang his bulletin board, I followed him to his school. Withdrawal is hard. One more bulletin board, just because I love Sam. I hope it's not because I love bulletin boards. That would be just too weird.

I gave up many things in my life, such as caffeine and dairy, but I still talk to myself and I might still be seen buying a cute pocket folder, just in case. Anyone need a bulletin board designer?