A bouquet of newly sharpened pencils

"Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address."
-You've Got Mail

Ok, so it's not New York and it's not quite fall, but I still love this line. This is how I feel about Back to School day. Going back to school makes me want to buy pencils and notepads and erasers! (I'm such a nerd, I know.) I miss that excitement of the first day. You're excited about seeing everyone and how they've changed over the summer. You spend hours picking out your best outfit for that first day. You look forward to seeing what the teachers have planned for the year. However, that's about where it stops. Once that first day is done, it's time for summer again! 

My wonderful cousins started school today for the first time in North Carolina. I'm really excited to catch up with them this weekend and hear all about it! Mariah started her first day of high school. I can't believe how grown up she is! That first day of high school was so BIG. Even though it wasn't quite as big of a deal for me as for others since I was in the same school as I was in middle school. But 8th grade was such a hard year for me since I was sick, so being in high school was a time to start over. Taylor began 7th grade today and Katherine started 4th grade. They are all growing up so fast! I'm so glad that they're here now so I can be a part of it. 

But I miss that excitement of starting something new. I love starting new things. Having a chance to reinvent yourself. That's what each new year always brought. That's what going off to college meant. That's what starting that new job did. I haven't had that feeling in a while. I've taken some big new steps, like getting married, but I don't consider that in quite the same category. I don't feel that you "reinvent" yourself when you get married, even though it is an exciting new stage of your life. It makes me really want to find something truly "new" to start. I guess for now, I'll have to live vicariously through my cousins... and take a stroll down the school supply aisle every now and then.