Sandy Teig shares a Mommy’s heart as her children return to school.

Pam’s Page 21 – “Family Life”

Today’s post was written by my dear friend and business partner, Sandy Teig.

Topic: Does it ever get easier?

We’ve heard and seen the warnings for a couple of weeks, now...the crickets chirping, the cicadas buzzing in the late afternoon, the morning dew highlighting the spider webs in the rural ditches and the cotton from the majestic cottonwoods fills the air like snow when a light breeze passes by. The seasons are changing. As one begins to rest, the other awakens.

The animals sense it too. The field mice are beginning to search for a better place to spend the winter and the Canadian Geese will soon give the order to their young goslings that it is time to pack up and head south.

We sense the change in the air, too, don’t we? No matter how hard we ignore the signs, we must deal with the reality that our summer vacation is coming to an end and our precious children are wanted back in school. Here in the Midwest, we follow the rhythm of the school year set in place by our great great grandparents – much of the Spring and all of the Summer was a time for the children to be at home tending the crops and livestock. For the older boys, even Fall was a time to be at home helping with the harvest, not a time to be in school. The children would walk or ride their horse one or two miles to the one room school house. They would take their own books to school – often a book handed down by an elder sibling. They would take their own lunch. Chores had to be done before they left for school and at night after they returned home.

How different are things in 2008? This morning, my children had to pick up their rooms and feed the cats and their fish before they got on a big yellow bus with a capacity of 50+ that picked them up at the end of our driveway and carried them two miles into town to a fairly new building that must have over 50 rooms in it. They will rent books that are the property of the state and eat a hot balanced lunch that is prepared by a paid staff of qualified cooks. My bank account will automatically send money to their lunch account to pay for their meals. I can go to a school website and check up on their grades and contact their teachers any time of the day. If my child stays home sick and I forget to call the school, the school will call me within 30 minutes of the beginning of the day to check up on my child. When my kids get off the bus, it is snack time, play time and of course, there is always homework. (Pictured below - Mandy and Nick Teig)

A little different scenario for my great grandmother who would send her precious children off on a two mile hike – before dawn – in all weather conditions – hoping that her children would arrive to school safely and on time. Then, there was the two mile hike back home through tall prairie grasses and all the creatures that lived there. It would be a whole day before she would know if her children were coming back home safe to her. No texting on cell phones just to check in with the kids. Just faith!Think, for a moment, about those mommies in the early1900’s who were sending their child off to college. We’ve seen it in the movies...the son has one suitcase and he and his parents are waiting at the train station. The father says something profound like, “Do us proud, son” and the mother just cries and won’t stop hugging her son. They send him off on a journey hundreds of miles away to find his own living quarters, classes, books and food.

I was in Ames, Iowa just yesterday – home of Iowa State University. The scene at Target was a little different. Parents and kids with big shopping carts full of school supplies and food for the dorm room - just waiting for the clerk to bring up a new futon bed from the supply room in back. By the time parents get back home that evening from setting up the new loft, unloading all of the goodies and decorating the new room, chances are good that they will have already communicated once or twice with their precious child before the days end.

Although the scenes change dramatically from the 1800’s to the 1900’s to 2008, common threads connect the generations. What threads do you see? Mommies have been sending their children off to school for generations. Are their common fears? Challenges? Celebrations? We welcome your thoughts.

To all you mommies out there who are sending your children off to school, we join you in your joy and suffering. The first day of college can be as unnerving as the first day of preschool when it is your child and your heart being tugged. We join you in celebrating the memories we all made this summer and we look forward to the adventures coming our way on the cool crisp air of autumn.

My daily prayer: Thank you, Lord, for commanding your angels to guard my children in all their ways. (Psalm 91:11)
Thank You-

Sandy Teig