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Letter From the Nest August 15, 2025 https://open.substack.com/pub/lettersfromthenest/p/back-to-school?r=48qui&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web One August, more than twenty years ago, at an evening book club discussion, my “older” friends (now I look back and know those women were the age I am now), were discussing the woes and triumphs of back-to-school season. One woman was anticipating her youngest child’s senior year of high school. She said, “For more than two decades, our lives have revolved around the school district’s academic calendar. I don’t know how I will plan my life without knowing about school breaks or holidays.” I remember her bittersweet tone as she anticipated freedom from school schedule constraints but also mourned how those constraints guided her choices. What would she do? Other women joined the discussion, wondering if their kids would have good teachers, if they’d be able to balance volunteering in the classroom, how to streamline school supply pu...
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Bonni,
I just had to share this exchange I overheard between Josh and Darren this morning.
Darren: Do you miss Rickey?
Josh: Rickey who?
D: Rickey Mergenthaler
J: Oh, yeah I miss Rickey a really lot
D: Me too.
D: Do you wish you could move to Iowa?
J: Yeah.
D: Me too.
J: Maybe when we grow up and we're firefighters we can go to Iowa and get Rickey.
D: Yeah
(Lots more talk about firefighters and how they will go see Rickey)
J: Maybe Rickey can be a firefighter with us and we can bring him here.
D: Yeah