By SUSAN DROMEY HEETER, Joyful Musings

Today I muse joyfully on Green Day’s song, “Wake Me Up when September Ends.” It’s a beautiful song of mourning, of loss, of sadness, of fatique.

 And, while I find the lyrics soothing, I’d change them to “Nap Me When September Ends.”  The tune would remain largely the same, I’d keep lines such as,  “As my memory rests

But never forgets what I lost.”

And, as an educator, today I write of not the loss of a dad, rather, the loss of time, freedom and flip flops.

You see, dear Joyful Musers, for many who return to work in September after a summer of recovery and recuperation, September can feel like a lot; at least it always does for me. I learn the names of at least one hundred new people, students, staff, administrators alike. I plan for hours of instruction. I memorize new passwords.

And, as opposed to sitting on a beach, inhaling fresh and salt air, I breathe teenagers, Rite Aid cologne, Takis.  I wake at 4:30 a.m., I photocopy, I adapt to pep rally schedules, I write bathroom passes, I get into my pajamas at 5 p.m.

Days are full, magically full and, well, terminally full.  There is an enormous amount of stimuli in a high school, daunting tasks of lock down drills, fire escapes, announcements of who goes where when.  And, while it’s called work for a reason, it is also a lot to adjust to.  By the end of September, educators are right back in, adapting to schedules and rules, putting on socks and shoes, wearing belts and ties.

So, Nap Me When September Ends may  make the top ten on any educator’s list, as most can relate to the need to go from zero to sixty in a New York minute. It’s exhilarating and exciting, new and brilliant but, well, nap inspirational as well.

I muse joyfully if you are an educator and can relate; I muse joyfully that you delight in an October nap, pause, and accept all that is new and vibrant, alive and joy filled. And the October foliage.

Be well, Joyful Musers, and do not hesitate to nap and pause.  September has, indeed, ended. 

Susan Dromey Heeter is a writer from Dover who recently let her hair go au natural white. Writing has been her passion since her English majoring days at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.  Dromey Heeter has lived in The Netherlands, Alaska and currently basks in all things New England, including the frigid winters. An avid swimmer, Dromey Heeter’s great passion is to bring back body surfing as most children have no idea how to ride waves without ridiculous boogie boards.