September is rolling in. I’ve always thought of September as the beginning of the new year. Maybe it’s because it’s my birth month, maybe because of the years spent in school, university and back at school as a teacher but it seems to me that autumn is a far better time to start something new than deep in the middle of winter. It’s a great time to buy new boots and break them in before the going gets icy. I’ve got some already. I bought them in an off-season sale in July. Having put nearly all my other boots in a donation bin in Ireland, somehow I doubt they’ll be the only boots I buy this year.
Here in New York, the weather is still summery. I’m writing this sitting on the deck wearing shorts and sandals. Not at all boot weather yet – it’s 27° – but there are a few tell-tale signs of fall. The tops of some trees have turned red and yellow and there are a couple of leaves scattered around me. The summer vacationers have all gone home now. The kids start school this week. I guess they’ll be needing new boots soon.
We’ve had a little tour of the school and met the principal. It is her first year in the school so my kids won’t be the only newbies. I’ve already been talked into attending my first PTA meeting. Although we have the teachers’ names, we haven’t met them yet. My youngest is starting big school for the first time and he is more than a little excited. I’m quite nervous for my eldest going into 2nd grade. He doesn’t even want me to drive him on the first day. He’ll be getting on a bus with a load of strange kids and will have to figure out the dos and don’ts by himself. Do stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. Don’t ask your teacher for a rubber. I’m sure he’ll be fine though. He’s still young enough that it shouldn’t be too difficult for him to fit in.
In other news, I got myself a job. Not quite the glamourous city position I fancy myself in, I’ll be a hostess in a local restaurant. Still, the hours suit me and the money’s alright and it seems like a nice, friendly place to work. The food is really good too. I can continue writing and rewriting my resume and presumably I’ll pick up something more stressful in time. I’m happy enough to stay local at the moment. You never know, my children may decide they need me after all.
So the summer’s drawing to a close and I guess that means we’ve lasted here a season. It’s had its ups and downs, adjustments and shocks. We by no means walked off the plane and into an American Dream. We’ve discovered that we’re going to have to work hard and make certain sacrifices to get to where we want to be but we do still seem to have a good chance of getting there. I never really felt that I had that chance in Ireland. No matter how hard I tried, doors seemed to slam in my face. I know it’s still early days but I haven’t felt as shut out of anything here. I also have a much greater choice of new boots. All that’s left to do now is start walking.
No comments:
Post a Comment