A New Year

There were a few years of my life, roughly 1978-1983 and 2000-2004, when the year began on January 1 and ended 365 days later (give or take) on December 31. The other 19 or so years have begun at some point in late August or early September and lasted until the ensuing August/September timeframe. My life is once again governed by the School Year. It shares many similaries with the usual Calendar Year. Both end in substantial vacations. Both are often hard to get into at first, although you have no choice. It is a bit odd, though, to be subject to the schedule but not actually in class. I get plenty of the trappings of it through Christina: talk of assignments, fragrant sharpened pencils and snappy new supplies. The only work I do, though, is keeping up with her (although I do have the occasional "homework assignment" of grading the easy stuff). I do prefer the slow phase-in of the new year in this system. Much less harsh than waking up one morning and having to remember a new number at the end of the date, I feel. Perhaps it's more natural, since the traditional school schedule is still based on the duties of a family farm, following the ebb and flow of an organic existance tied to the land and the seasons. Nonetheless, the idyll of summer draws to a close, and the adventure of a busy autumn beckons.