Sunnyside Up

By Nicole Rogers

 Last week I had a taste of school days as I worked at the recent summer school session. Boy… it was a short week, but it sure took a lot out of me, in fact two of the four days I was in bed before 8 p.m. As I wrote in the school article this week, this was a fun week that helped to get students and staff back in the swing of things. It was amazing how some kids grew in just a few short months not only in inches but in maturity - especially from preschool to kindergarten! It was wonderful to welcome them back to the library again and see how their behavior has improved.

Wednesday was park day and so I was assigned to help with the kindergarten classes. We all walked a good mile to the Withee Lions’ Park which for some of those short-legged kiddos, took quite a while, especially on the return trip back to school. I am not a fast walker, having rather short legs myself, so I brought up the rear. Two little boys were my walking buddies – Leroy and Leo. Leo grabbed my hand and did not let it go and Leroy stayed close behind us. We enjoyed a nice sllllloooowwww walk together, talking about what we saw along the way. Leo is a bilingual student who has a brilliant mastery of both English and Spanish especially for his young age. I wanted to pick his little brain and learn Spanish words as we walked and asked him the word for tree and he said as quick as can be “oh, arbol.” After that I decided not to turn this leisurely stroll into a Spanish lesson for me and just let the boys lead the conversation and the pace which was that of a turtle. As we walked, Leroy stopped or quick rests and Leo stopped to pick dandelions for his mother. At nearly every water filled ditch we stopped to count how many frogs sat peering up at us. As we meandered further and further down the bike trail, I could tell they were tiring out and did not quicken their steps even when the school was getting closer. When we made it to the school, little Leo stopped right before the entrance and sat on the curb and said “Oh, I just have to rest my legs.” I chuckled to myself and thought “I guess those little legs couldn’t make it even a couple more steps.”

I thoroughly enjoyed the long slow amble back to school with Leroy and Leo. It gave us all time to take in the cool day, the smell of fresh grass, towering trees, trucks playfully honking their horns as they passed by, frog-filled ditches, and the slow comfortable atmosphere of our little town. Sometimes the journey is more important than the destination. There will be time enough for rushing to school, this day was about enjoying a lovely summer outing.

Dan and Karleen Bakke welcome all to check out their field of sunflowers while they are in brilliant bloom.

I just want to add, the Sunday before, my husband, father-in-law and some southern relatives enjoyed another summer outing. We ventured off the paved road for a little rustic backroad journey to visit the Bakke’s sunflower field. Travis’s cousin and sister sure enjoyed this unique opportunity to see a field full of sunshine! We all loved to see the sunflowers standing so tall with faces in full bloom. If you get a chance, why not journey through our countryside to this sunny destination north of Owen on Willow Avenue.