Meandering Thoughts (#22)

I need to start heeding these fortune cookies.
(And, now, I want Chinese food...)

Today is the first of September. Tomorrow, Labor Day. Later in the week, my children begin a new academic year. And, on this day, a decade ago, after thirteen straight years of teaching, I experienced my first September not having to think about school. I have not entered a classroom since.

Somewhere in the backlogs of this blog is a post (or two) about Labor Day, and what it used to mean to me, both as a student and a teacher. For me, Labor Day was a time for New Year's resolutions. A chance to wipe the slate clean, and improve over last year's mistakes. Ridding myself of old habits, while beginning new ones. As a student, it meant overcoming my procrastination and social awkwardness. As a teacher? Much the same, though, this time I struggled not only with my peers, but with parents and students as well.

By October of that year, whatever promises I will have made to myself will be broken. Around winter break, I would have made another attempt at my goals. But, long before Memorial Day, the signpost for summer vacation, all hope of changing would have disappeared. 

Habits die hard.

Tomorrow, I will wake up, a bit hungover from the buffalo wings, hamburgers, a half gallon of ice cream, a delicious past meal, and a slice of Boston cream cake. Thanks to the antics of my two hungry cats, there will no chance of over sleeping, even on a holiday. Then, having fed them and cleaned their litter box, two choices will present themselves. I could do something constructive, like exercise, read a book, or write a novel. On the other hand, I could do something counter-productive, like doom scroll through my Google newsfeed, sit around and daydream, or go back to sleep, since it is a holiday.  

Before September 2014, I would have been preparing myself for a new school year, setting goals, and imagining possibilities. Since then, Labor Day morphed into an opportunity to wax nostalgic about a huge part of me I left behind.

I am not sure what tomorrow will bring, whether I will choose to change, or remain the same. But, when I wake up, I will know that I ended September 1st, 2024, with a blog post. 

At least I am keeping my goal of blogging alive.