Tomorrow is a new day

I know we say this every year, but every year it is true. It is unfathomable that tomorrow is the first day of school. What happened to summer? After feverishly working for the past week to get my classroom in order, I still can't quite believe that tomorrow morning at 8:15, 20 little humans will be walking into my room expecting me to lead them.

Having said that, there is something about new beginnings that I love. To borrow a quote from Anne of Green Gables, “Tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it... yet.”

These are a few of my favorite things about a new school year, before the students set foot in the classroom:

• stacks of books
• freshly laminated name tags
• a clean white board
• sharp pencils
• empty notebooks 
• straight rows of desks
• a colorful, organized schedule 
• completed (almost) checklists 
• new markers 

But nothing compares to my favorite things about a new school year, after the students set foot in the classroom: 

• the nervous and excited chatter of a first day
• broken pencil tips
• eraser dirt 
• hand-drawn pictures
• dull crayons
• crooked desks
• scattered supplies 
• sweet notes from students 
• laughter 

An empty classroom, while organized and clean and neat, is nothing compared to seeing the evidence of life, of creativity, of God's very own image-bearers, placed into my care. It will truly be a privilege to live life with these 20 children for the next nine months.