In My Mind’s Zen Garden

This entry is a part of the September Collaboration at Rice Bowl Journals.

Around this time of year, I sometimes reflect back on when I first started pre-school and kindergarten.

Nowadays, I often play taxi-cab driver as I pick up my kids and nephews and nieces to and from school. My work as a musician allows it since most of my gigs are at night. Though, when gigs happen during the weeknights, it is so hard to wake up in the morning to drive anyone to any place!

But, this is the time of year when it’s a new Fall school semester, and the family ends up buying more school supplies and things.

Right now, my oldest (who is on break from UCR) has been driving his younger brother too and from school which is a blessing. He is used to waking up extra early so it’s not a problem for him. Of course, once he goes back to university life later this month, I’ll be the only one driving kids to and from school.

As a little one, starting in nursery school (they didn’t call it pre-school back then) I think I remember my Mom taking me every day. I would assume that I was just a bit wee small to be walking by myself to and from school, even though we were just a few blocks away from the school.

I remember the nursery school being behind the elementary school. I remember they had a nice playground with swings and a sandbox and these concrete tunnels that you could hide in and stay cool from the sun. I remember fun things during this time, like working with crayons and paint.

When I got to kindergarten I vividly remember my Mom taking me on my first day. We lived in Coronado at the time, in these old Navy housing developments. We were just a couple of blocks from the school and the kindergarten classrooms were at the very front, so my Mom walked me to school.

Once I was in the actual classroom I felt relieved that there were many children in the same predicament as me, but when my Mom waved good-bye I wanted to cry but I remember I didn’t. And, once the teacher had our attention with some fun stuff to do, we (at least I) had forgotten all about my Mom going away. And I remember school life was fine after that first day.

Things I remember…. I definitely remember the fingerpainting part, and we had a lot of fun with musical instruments. I recall enjoying the percussive instruments the most even back then. The drums, the sandpaper blocks that you rubbed together, etc… I remember watching several Disney-produced films on the classroom’s film projector. Sometimes I enjoyed watching the film projector more than the actual film…. I remember being a milk monitor and going off to the cafeteria with a few other kids to help bring milk and snacks back to the classroom…

After the first day, I guess I remember walking to school by myself. I think there was no paranoia about missing kids and pedophiles. Matter of fact, I remember leaving my front door open many times. Those were different times back then. And throughout most of my school life aside from high school when I started driving to and from school, I walked… a LOT! And once we moved out of Coronado and moved to where my parents live now… I used to walk a little of a mile to school each way.

Nowadays, it seems everyone drives their children to school for safety reasons. Life is crazier and scarier, perhaps. There are a few markers in our neighborhood where someone’s child was struck and killed by a car. And we read stories in the news about pedophiles, and everyone can check where a convicted child molester lives. Matter of fact, everyone in our neighborhood knows there is a convicted pedophile who lives just up the street.

But I don’t mind taxi-ing kids to and from school. I’ve been doing this now for many years. Whatever it takes to be extra safe.

But, at this time of year I have to make the adjustment, and being a working musician with a different schedule than most everyone else. It makes it rather tough.