How old do you have to be before you quit seeing life in terms of semesters, summer vacations and back to school in the fall?

I've been out of school a loooooonnnnngggg time, but today, the kiddos that live around me started back to school, and I got this funny, excited feeling in me about all the first days of school that I've been through. It was neat.

A mother nearby was taking pictures of her children in their new school duds and fancy new backpacks. It reminded me of the shopping trips I used to make with my own kids and the dilemma about whether to get the "Dukes of Hazzard" lunchbox or "Spiderman". Those were great days.

I even miss going to zillions of stores, trying to find the exact school supplies that the teachers demanded that my children have on day 2!

In reality, though, it's also nice to not have to do that shopping, and in reality, it's nice that my life is not really divided into semesters anymore, or getting homework done every night.

Maybe, in a way, that's what makes it so romantic to me.