Getting Schooled

High School was a wild ride for me.

Not in the Spicoli sense.

More in a revolving door kinda way.

9th Grade.

I graduated from a private Orthodox Hebrew Day School with eight classmates.

10th Grade.

I spent the first semester at a 3,000 student public high school in San Diego.

Midway through the year, we moved to New Jersey.

Where I became the new kid at Fort Lee High School.

11th Grade.

It was back to California.

And back to a 3,000 student public high school.

This time in Los Angeles.

That’s the school I eventually graduated from.

Eventually graduated... ha.   

That sounds funny.

Yes, I graduated on time.

Barely.

I wouldn’t say I was the greatest student.

But I did what had to be done.

Monday is a big day for my daughter.

It’s her first day of high school.

That officially makes me old.

But I don’t think I’ve seen her this excited in a while.

And this nervous too.

The unknown can be quite the mystery.

We spent most of Sunday talking about this next stop of her journey.

Hey, high school is a big deal.

Everybody wants to be popular.

And these grades actually do count.

Remember all that nonsense in elementary school.

“This will go do on your PERMANENT record.”

Hogwash.

There is no such thing as a permanent record in 4th grade.

(Hey don’t tell that to my two younger kids.)

But High School.

That’s a different story.

Being that Sunday was her last day before becoming an adult.

Or whatever high school students become.

I decided to take my daughter to my place of worship.

The place where I clear my mind.

The place where I have all good thoughts.

No, not church.

Silly.

The grocery store.

I really LOVE grocery shopping.

Always have.

Not sure what the exact appeal is.

But anytime anybody needs anything.

I am more than happy to go.

Although my wife has certainly learned that whether she needs one onion or 35 things.

It always takes me two hours.

Or more.

Hey I love the grocery store.

And Sunday was no different.

I think we arrived shortly before two.

And left ten minutes after four.

Yep, two hours.

Or more.

Now the fact that my fridge needed some food.

And my daughter needed some love.

This was the perfect opportunity to mix church and steak.

We walked up and down every aisle.

Reading labels.

And talking about her life.

Every time I asked what she feared.

She had no answer.

And what was it that she was most excited about.

No answer.

And what was it...

Well, it didn’t matter the question.

She didn’t have the answer.

But at one point she did announce.

“This is my last day as a real kid.”

At which point I became teary eyed.

And speechless.

No small feat.

I can remember entering my new high school.

Three different times.

And every time I was thinking the same thing.

“When is lunch?”

Ok, seriously.

Yes high school scared the hell out of me.

But I certainly had no idea the things that I would be learning.

Especially outside of class.

My San Diego high school was the first time I saw my peers smoking.

My New Jersey high school was the first time I was offered drugs.

My Los Angeles high school was the first time I had a drink.

High school was a growing up experience for me.

To say the least.

And that was 19 years ago.

I can only imagine what she will learn these days.

The good news is that unlike me, learning is very important to her.

And she is a great student.

If you don’t believe me, maybe you’ll believe her schedule.

• Honors Biology
• Honors English
• AP Human Geography
• Geometry
• Spanish

With P.E. and Ceramics mixed in there.

The only Honors I got in high school was when I was voted Most Zany.

In my Senior year.

It certainly makes me sad that my little girl is not so little anymore.

But I am equally excited about her taking this next step in her life.

I know that this night before Day 1 will be tough.

For her.

But once they start talking about Isosceles trapezoids.

I'm thinking everything will be just fine.