Back to School... Ritual or Routine?

Think about it, rituals are far more fun than routines. Rituals have gravitas, they are solemn, often religious usually performed with dignity in a church or university. Routines not so much. Routines are just, well regular. Routines don't serve a special purpose, we just settle into them. Typically, they are like driving your car to the gas station and filling up.

Back to school season for my family is a ritual. We perform our ritual every year, it's like Black Friday. The grown ups are faithful and the kids are, let's just say, dutiful. We all get up early, eat breakfast together, then Mom takes pictures of the kids in all their back to school glory. New shoes, clothes, backpacks, lunch boxes, hairdos, the works.

Every year this day is the culmination of all our optimism for our kids' prospects. This new year my kid will... then you fill on the blank. And every year past kindergarten the kids blanch at the idea of posing under their school signs in front of their peers. Many of whom are waiting their turn for their mom's photo shoot.

Routine sets in the very next day. We fudge our wake up time and grab breakfast as we fly out the door. Or maybe it takes a couple of days to find a routine. After Mom takes those pictures school becomes  regular. Like waiting for the red light to turn green so we can all drive to McDonald's and order the usual.

What's the take away? Maybe, I should just try to embrace the wonder of the ritual of the hope of a daily blessing, and make sure Mom gets a picture so we remember how far we have come together.