September has arrived.
For many people this signals the end of the summer holidays and the return to the daily grind ( the everyday work/school routine).
What does this daily grind mean to people?
Well, it means different things to different people. Let’s take a look at what it means for children and adults.
Children
September brings in a new academic year where children will be moving class, meeting new classmates and teachers.
- In the UK, schoolchildren wear school uniforms with their school’s badge sewn on their blazer or jumper. Every year parents have to buy new uniforms (children have a habit of growing out of their uniforms with lightning speed!). Most of these uniforms consist of a blazer (jacket), a pair of trousers or shorts (boys), skirts (girls), shirts, jumpers, cardigans, socks and shoes. Every school has a different uniform with specific colours.
- Then there is the school stationery to buy, for example, exercise books, pencils, sharpeners, pens, rulers, erasers, scissors, highlighter pens, pencil sharpeners and pencil cases. Anything else I’ve forgotten?
The start of school sees an increase in traffic on the roads especially with parents doing the school run in their cars. Some children walk to school accompanied by their parents, normally mothers, when they are in junior school. As soon as they reach secondary school (13 years old), they do NOT want to be seen any where near a parent!
Adults
As for us adults, September can be extremely welcome. If you ask my friends who are parents, the start of the new school year is a moment of great celebration. They can finally have a break from their children! No more having to find different ways of entertaining their bored offspring (children).
However, before the celebration really starts let’s take a look at what September really means for the grown-ups:
- For those who work in an office, there’s the daily commute. If you are a commuter, you have a daily journey from your home to the office. This could be in a car, on a train, tube or bus. There could be traffic jams on the roads, train or tube delays, crowded train carriages with no place to sit. We have an idiomatic expression for this called the Rat Race.
- It’s good to be back at work – there could be new targets and projects to look forward to. There might be deadlines to meet, long hours to work, client meetings to arrange, business trips to go on and business plans to prepare. Let’s not forget all those client lunches or working lunches that you could have and after-work drinks with your colleagues.
Then there are those adults who don’t have children or whose children are grown-up for whom September means going on holiday outside the peak season and enjoying cooler temperatures.
Whatever September means for you, I hope the return to work and school goes smoothly and that you have fun. As for me, September means taking a well-earned rest from an extremely busy and rewarding summer teaching schedule.
Happy September, folks.
Ciao for now.
Shanthi
