School

The Countdown

/ markmkane / 3 Comments

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The holiday season is well underway and a lot of kids are eagerly counting down the days till Christmas.  That age of innocence is clearly apparent and I often reminisce about my own experience.  But alas, we all get older and sometimes our focus tends to gravitate toward age appropriate matters.

My kids, who are now young teenagers, reminded me of this.  Yes, of course, they still look forward to Christmas but the enthusiasm is not as vibrant as it was when they were in their single digit age.

The main thing that concerns them the most is when does Christmas vacation start and how long it will be.  They can’t wait to take a break from all that studying and let loose…or for others, just chill and do nothing.  Granted, we all hated going to school and valued those precious times away from academia.

I recalled the time when I was their exact age and fully  remembered what I was doing leading up to the start of winter recess.  Counting down the days, hours, minutes and seconds;  time ironically moves extremely slow when we’re young and somehow speeds up the older we get.  Go figure that.a8

As I was thinking about this, a short poem came to mind that kind of summed up how I felt at my children’s age and I’d like to share it.

Here I am at school today

feeling down and oh so blue

I dream of being hard at play

in the hopes it will come true

Running, skating, playing ball

is what I’d like to do

but here I am thinking – that’s all

just stuck here right at school

To dream, to dream, only to dream

waiting for school to end soon

“My God! My watch! Oh gads I’ll scream!

I can’t believe it’s only noon!!!”

 

 

 

Always eat your vegetables.

/ markmkane / Leave a comment

Wesley was the most fastest, smartest, strongest, energetic student in his whole entire 4th grade class.

If there was a race, Wesley would come in first place. If there was a question that a teacher asked , Wesley would be the first to raise his hands and answer. If there was an arm wrestling contest, Wesley would always win. From the start of the school day till the end of the school day Wesley would be wide awake and ready to do anything.

Everyone in Wesley’s 4th grade class wanted to be like Wesley and they wanted to know what his secret was to being the most fastest, smartest, strongest, and energetic student in all of 4th grade. He didn’t know.

Everyday during lunch, Wesley would be discouraged at what his mom made for him. His lunch was always a sandwich and vegetable sticks. As he ate his lunch, Wesley would remember what his mom always told him, “Don’t forget, always eat your vegetables.”

Wesley looked at the other students and wished he had what they had…pizza, hamburger, fries, potato chips, and candy.

One day Wesley traded his vegetable sticks with Judy and had a pizza slice. It was simply delicious. The next day, Wesley traded his vegetable sticks with Nicky and got a hamburger. It was even more delicious. From then on, Wesley traded his lunch with a different classmate each day, and ate the lunch he always wished for.

After doing this for quite some time, Wesley started to feel sluggish at the start of the school day till the end of the school day. Everyone else moved around him energetically.

Soon Wesley noticed that if there was a race, he was the last to finish. If there was a question a teacher asked, all the other students were quick to raise their hands while he pondered the answer. If there was an arm wrestling contest, he lost.

During lunch break, Wesley started to notice that the other students were eating vegetable sticks with their sandwiches. Not one student was eating what he liked…pizza, hamburger, fries, potato chips, or candy.

Wesley wondered why the other students were eating what he used to eat.

Wesley asked Judy why she had vegetable sticks with her lunch. She replied, “My mom said it’s good for you. It keeps you healthy and makes you strong, smart, and fast.” Wesley turned to Nicky and asked him why he had vegetable sticks with his lunch. He answered, “My mom said the same thing. Vegetables make you strong, smart, and fast.”

Wesley looked at the lunch that his mom made for him. A sandwich and vegetable sticks. He remembered what his mom always told him before school, “Don’t forget, always eat your vegetables.” He soon realized that the reason why he was the fastest, strongest, smartest, and energetic was because he ate his vegetables.

From then on, Wesley never forgot to eat his vegetables.

Mark Kaneshige