Orange ties

I never had an orange tie before I came to Poly — blue, lots of blue, a few "rep" ties when they were in, many small-town-New-England-doctor ties from my father, who gleefully handed them to me when he retired, and several rather odd ones that I've never worn. My dad still boasts about never throwing out a tie because he was convinced if he waited long enough, a particular style would come back in fashion soon enough.

I start noticing my orange ties about a week before school starts. For most of the summer, they hang quietly in my closet, resting comfortably after the flurry of celebrations that mark the end of the school year. A couple of them had to go to the dry cleaner because talking-eating-walking was not conducive to keeping them spotless.

Many of us start to notice these cues when the opening of school approaches. They are seen in the unfinished summer reading that beckons us from our bedside table or the slowly increasing to-do lists, updates, and questions that pepper our inboxes as August starts to hit its stride. While sometimes this flash of orange can feel intrusive — the summer pace is really quite pleasant — I love the mixture of energy and excitement that builds when its symbolic hue brightens.

Our Upper School students started classes last Wednesday with characteristic optimism and excitement, as well as some hints of trepidation. Intellectually they know the year ahead will offer endless opportunities to grow, to explore, and to be challenged. Emotionally, they recognize that there will be some days when they will be truly inspired and other days when they will be humbled. Our Lower and Middle School started today. If last Thursday's Lower School Welcome Night is any indication, we will have a terrific year, inspired by the utterly kinetic feel that pervaded the North Campus while students and families visited their new classrooms and met their teachers. And Middle Schoolers, our middle children, have quietly bided their time until they, too, could fill the campus with their unfettered curiosity and youth.

I've worn an orange tie three days in a row now with a few more in my closet for the week ahead. It feels good!

JWB