Connect! Unite! Act! Denver, Houston, Boston & Sacramento Meet-ups! —'Back to School' Memories?

A daily series, Connect! Unite! Act! seeks to create face-to-face networks in each congressional district. Groups regularly socialize but also get out the vote, support candidates and engage in other local political actions that help our progressive movement grow and exert influence on the powers-that-be. Visit us every morning at 7:30 A.M. Pacific Time to see how you can get involved. The comment thread is fun and light-hearted, but we're serious about moving the progressive political agenda forward.

Back in the ancient times when rain fell freely from the skies, Labor Day marked the time when summer was over. The white belts and shoes went back in the closet, and kids went back to school.

Being quite the little brown-noser I always loved going back to school, though it was often a new school as the downwards trajectory of family fortunes meant frequent moves. I loved new books, new classrooms, and a new teacher. I actually got paid attention to in school. The best part of all was the back-to-school shopping trip, the only time out of the year I got new stuff just for me instead of the usual hand-me-downs. New pencils, a fresh Pee-chee to doodle on, sometimes even new shoes were in store. One year when we must have been particularly flush I also got a new dress and new shoes. Talk about livin' large!

Did you look forward to going back to school? Did you really look forward to your kids going back to school after a summer of getting in your hair? I have a patient who is currently in mourning because she loved being around her young children so much this summer that it's breaking her heart to send them back to school. Is she an outlier?