"School's Out for Summer!"

Current River floats are the best! (Doniphan, MO)

“School’s out for summer!” (You of a certain era saw that line and sang it - in your head and then out loud, right)? That's from an Alice Cooper hit released in 1972, in the midst of my college days.

I didn’t dislike school, but it was a nice change of pace in the early 70’s, a break from the rising pressure to decide what I wanted to be when I grew up. I was well on my way to being just that, but I was still major-hopping, overwhelmed with so many intriguing options.

Adulthood loomed. I didn’t feel like one and I didn’t want to be one. “No more pencils, no more books” was fine with me. I needed time to fully appreciate living in Current River country, anyway. I had been a Ripley County resident for just three summers, anticipating a fun-filled fourth with family and friends and floating.

“No more teachers’ dirty looks” rang out in the mid to late 70’ on the flipside. Eighth graders were escaping MY dirty looks. Junior high students often left me speechless. Holding my tongue when I didn’t know what to say anyway was the easy part. But…I’ve never been one who can camouflage emotions with a blank expression. “All the girls and boys making all that noise” rang true. My students and I were ALL singing along with Alice Cooper. I had jumped right into adulthood with marriage, career and car payments. Summer promised solace and serenity, and more floating.

“Out for summer, out ‘til fall” was especially inviting once I was a mom. Early on Anthony and I were at the river, sitting in the cold water among the rocks, (throwing them when no one was looking), slathering on lotion and eating lots of cold hot dogs sitting in chairs with our feet dangling in the ripples. Later he learned to navigate using a road atlas as we traveled unfamiliar territory on long road trips. Summer vacations floated through one year, then another.

“School’s out forever…school’s out completely” rang out all too soon for that son of mine. How did that time float right on by so swiftly? He was on his own navigating his path to adulthood.

A chorus of “We might not come back at all” echoed from the balcony in the back of my head when I cleaned out 33 years of stuff and turned in my keys. No more dirty looks. I had no class, no principal. No regrets, either, as kayaked down the Current floating into a different kind of adulthood. I did go back half-days for two years, but after that, I was finished, which benefited all involved.

“School’s out forever” is right for me. I’m doing stuff I love at my own pace, grappling with being old but not feeling old. One line you’ll not hear me sing is “I’m bored to pieces.” Still a lot of floating left to do.