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WILLIAMS: Back to school, with butterflies
By BRIAN WILLIAMS, Are We There Yet?
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The official creature of the first day of school seems to be the butterfly.
It starts the night before when the fluttering creatures seem to nest in everyone’s stomachs. My kids couldn’t get to sleep at all.
I completely understand. Every year, I never could get to sleep the night before the first day of school.
The exciting frontier of a new school year is whirled together with the sinking disappointment of the end of summer vacation. Highs and lows mixed with pinballing emotions seem to be the perfect breeding ground for butterflies.
Our hallway seemed to be an insomnia freeway. Each of my kids made appearances at my doorway telling me they couldn’t get to sleep. My daughter’s radio seemed to provide the antidote for the “butterfly fever” and she fell asleep at about 10:30 p.m.
My son was a bit more anxious and apparently resistant to music. He went through three glasses of water and stopped in to tell me he was still awake three times.
After the third time he told me he was awake, I couldn’t help but reply, “No kidding. I guessed that because you were standing here in my room.”
I admit that probably wasn’t the best response, but it was midnight and I had a few butterflies myself.
I took him back to his room and told him he needed to get to sleep because morning would be here before he knew it. I checked on him about 15 minutes later and, finally, he was sound asleep.
The butterflies stayed asleep until we were driving to school and my daughter said, “My butterflies are back. I wasn’t nervous until now.”
Once we got to the familiar playground, my kids were met with friendly faces. The butterflies vanished.
After talking to a few parents the next day, it seems the butterfly epidemic was widespread across Franklin and Anderson counties. Whew! I was glad to know we weren’t part of an isolated outbreak.
When I picked them up that evening, they were still excited.
“It was the best first day of school ever!” my daughter exclaimed.
Their first half-day at Eugene Field ended with the release of 275 butterflies. I know it was to commemorate the first day of school and symbolize how high the children can soar at school.
For my kids and others, it also marked the letting go of the first-day jitters.
This year, butterflies were released metaphorically and literally.
Brian Williams is Connections adviser for The Ottawa Herald and a single father. E-mail him at bwilliams@ottawaherald.com.
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