I’m old and sad…and now I need a cookie

I live less than a block from the elementary school that My Honey and I both attended growing up. I always thought it would be really cool for my kids to go to the same one. It wasn’t to be, however. That school district has become a bit of a disaster in the 35+ years since we went there.

First of all – HOLY SHIT did I just type that I was there THIRTY-FIVE YEARS AGO? I’m horrified by that realization.

OK – I got a grip on myself. Anyway, we’d never have sent our kids to that school now. But I still think it would have been cool. The school district is in such dire straits that they’ve been closing schools and they’ve remained vacant while they decide what to do with the buildings.

After many stops and starts, finally they sold my old elementary school to a developer for residential properties. Now some builder is going to put up cookie cutter houses or something equally dreadful.

In the good old days…last week

I can’t tell you how sad it makes me to see them bulldozing my old school. I pass by it literally ever single time I leave my house. While we were camping they demolished the gym and basketball courts. On my way home from work tonight, I noticed the lower grade wings were missing.

It makes my heart hurt.

My 2nd and 3rd grade classrooms are no more. Rooms where I spent countless hours in the corner for talking. Where we practiced our Christmas program music by Mrs. Dooley’s piano. I can still sing all the words to Up on the House Top and even do the little dance steps and hand movements. The room where I wrote my first ever story is gone – The Lonely Crayon. I won the school competition for it in third grade.

Pretty soon Mr. Miller’s 6th grade class will be gone, too. He was my favorite teacher of my entire school career. That’s the class room where my father embarrassed me beyond all reason, scarring me for life when he entered my classroom with my forgotten lunchbox and said, “Birdlegs forgot her lunch” in front of everyone.

And the room will be gone where I played flute in the school band for at least three weeks before I decided, nah.

And the courtyard where we had cake walks.

And the stage in the cafeteria where my girl scout troupe put on the very first play I wrote (with my mom).

And the library where I checked out every Judy Blume book over and over and over until the librarian made me try something else.

And my 4th grade class where we watched the solar eclipse with those special doohickeys we made in science so we didn’t burn out our retinas.

I’m depressing the hell out of myself.