The First Day of Kindergarten

September 1952

     Autumn smells like the start of school. The air changes, the daylight hours are shorter, the sun is lower in the sky. The days are getting cooler. Since I always loved school and the new school year began in September, the Fall and school are as natural together as chocolate cookies and milk.

     For me, starting school was one of the most exciting things to happen in my five years of life. It was right up there with having the crust cut off my peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich and then having the sandwich cut into triangles instead of squares. It was a wiggle, giggle, and body moving kind of happiness.

     For the first ever day of school, my Nanny Mac made me a new dress, and my father took me for a new pair of shoes. I don’t remember a thing about the dress except it was pretty, but I do remember my red Mary Janes with the small flower design punched into the leather on top and the shiny silver buckles at the sides. Every day my father would buckle my shoes and fold over the tops of my white ankle socks.

“There you go,” he would say, tapping the top of the shoe last fastened, and I would walk away, so proud of my new shoes, dreaming that they were Buster Browns, just like the ones advertised on the “Tarzan” show on Saturday morning TV. 

“One two, buckle my shoe. Three, four, shut the door…”  away I would hop happy as could be.


(c) Copyright 2016 Malvena Baxter