In just two more weeks, summer break for most area students will come to an end.

Though the fall equinox is not slated until the middle of August, one thing is certain: it’s that time again for parents to purchase clothes, pencils, markers and paper for their little ones for back-to-school.

The Selma City School system will begin Aug. 8 and Dallas County Schools and some private institutions will begin Monday, Aug. 15.

I remember the days of elementary, middle and secondary school.

I dreaded having to get up as early as 6:30 or 7 a.m. to the smell of morning dew and hint of crisp air signaling that the first day of school had arrived.

I can still recall how every morning like clockwork my mother would turn on all of the lights in the house, including my room, and chant repeatedly to my sisters and I, “Okay ya’ll, time to get up for school, get out the bed.” Having usually gone to bed late the night before,

I’d turn over and angrily throw the blankets over my head, hoping to drown out my mother’s voice and get in 10 more minutes of sleep. Each morning I knew the routine was coming, but I wish it hadn’t. I still chuckle at how I’d promised myself I’d “drop out” so I wouldn’t have to attend school.

My house was a circus from about 7 a.m. until 7:45 a.m. (sometimes 8 a.m.) each morning. Whether running into a sister to find a matching sock, or trying to get a wrinkle-free shirt from the dryer with a spoonful of scrambled eggs and smoked sausage in my mouth, each day was anything but monotonous.

As if ready to board a mission, all six of us strapped ourselves into our parents’ Chevy van we’d call “big bruiser” to the designated schools. Two at Selma CHAT Academy; one at Selma Middle; two at Selma High and maybe one at School of Discovery.

Yes, our family was a real life taxi service that often ran late, to and from school.

At school it was exciting to often catch up with friends we hadn’t seen during the summer or to meet the new kid, who seemed bewildered and afraid.

It still brings a smile to my face when I think of how my classmates would always come up with plans to be disruptive and make my teachers’ lives hell for the rest of the school year. Shameful.

The first day of school brings back so many memories and there’s nothing like it. To area students, enjoy going back to school and be sure to cherish the memories.