A new school year brings warm memories of my elementary-high school years. Maybe you will resonate with a few of my ABCs or have some of your own.
A — Alphabet letters displayed above the board in caps & lower case
B — Bells that defined class times
C — Crayons, all those sharp points lined up & ready
D — Desks & dividers with colored tabs
E — Erasers, clean and pink
F — First day with its jitters & joy
G — Gym class, not! (my least favorite class)
H — Homework & highlighters
I — Index cards bundled in a rubber band
J — Journals, and journeys into new areas of learning
K — Kids to meet and old friends
L — Lunch boxes (yes, I’m dating myself)
M — Markers, broad and thin line
N — Notebooks color-coded for different subjects
O — Organizers & getting organized
P — Pens of varying styles & sharpened pencils
Q — Quizzes, but not pop-quizzes
R — Reading—reading books & reading class
S — Science class with fun experiments
T — Textbooks, used or new, with brown paper bag covers
U — United States Flag and the Pledge of Allegiance
V — Volumes of books in the library
W — World maps and a globe displaying far off places
X — X-ing out my homework assignments
Y — Yellow markers and legal pads
Z — Zippers on my new pencil case and backpack
Finding Hope, 65 Meditations for a Broken Heart
BARBARA HIGBY 