The Excitement Never Dies

I know you all remember being in grade school, as the year winds down and it gets warmer outside. You get out of class and mentally check off another day in your countdown to the glorious escape that is summer break. With each passing hour you can taste the freedom and feel the anticipation mounting. It has been one long, painful year and soon, the torture will all be over.

I can still remember one specific last day of class. My last day of 5th grade, my last at Portage Elementary and the last with many friends who would mostly be going to Highland Middle School instead of my U.L. Light Middle School. At that point, I had a crush on Brittany Smith. And for 5th grade, it was pretty serious. I remember telling Jeff Cooper at an educational camping retreat we went to about a month before, that I liked her, I like-liked her, even though he was going out with her. But like a true friend, they broke up shortly after, and the door was open. 

If you knew me as a kid, I was deathly shy, so I never really did anything. But when the last day of school comes, anything can happen. We were all standing on the steps leading outside the school, waiting for that final bell, waiting for summer to be out. I was waiting for it to ring so I could make my move, free of the consequences of school. I stared at the clock, heart racing and neck sweating, and the second hand finally reached it's goal.

"Bbbbbbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggg"

Amongst shouts of joy from other children, I turned to Brittany Smith, absolutely terrified, I told her "I like you." I then shrieked like a girl and ran down the steps. I remember my eyes meeting those of Professor D (I think her name was Digiacinto, but not positive) and she just laughed at me as I burst through those doors one last time.

For years, you have those wonderful moments of sheer ecstasy when those bells ring for the last time that year, releasing you for months on end of never-ending fun and relaxation. You get to play basketball and wiffleball for hours on end. You get to walk a mile and a half to get ice cream with money you earned from mowing the neighbor's lawn. You get to stay up all frickin night, man.... Wow, I do miss that feeling.

But wait a second... Does my heart deceive me or do I feel that same anticipation now, as the year draws to a close for me, but on the other side? I believe I do. I have a subconscious countdown ticking. I replay my plans for the summer and what my schedule will be like. I anticipate the couple days off I will get a week as opposed to working 7. I am ready for my birthday, ready to go to Colorado, ready to have fun, and ready to go to Spain! AHHHH! Pardon my French, but HOLY SHIT I'm ready for summer.

So for all of you who recall that weird dynamic between teachers and students, how the teachers seemed almost robotic, unflappable in their sternness, know that they too, enjoy summer break as much as you do. And from knowing some of the faculty at my school, and mostly myself, I'm willing to bet some of them enjoy it more.