Back to School

by Annette Arndt

My kids are back to school now and it’s been one heck of an emotional roller coaster. The anxiety of going back kept them awake well past their bedtimes the week before. Trying to distract them from it, only worked during the day, but night time was another story. Which teacher or teachers would they have? Who would be in their class? Would they be all alone away from their friends? The questions kept coming.

Once school started, the stress became more intense. The excitement of new things juxtaposed with conforming to new routines. Excited to see their friends, but frustrated with classmates that they don’t get along with. Going on this ride with my kids brings flashbacks from my own childhood. Good and bad. Getting through this first week is a big accomplishment for the entire family.

photo copyright Annette Arndt 2015
photo credit Michele Fogal

Because the weather is still quite warm and beautiful we decided to take a walk in our local park to let of some steam and really enjoy the last little bits of summer. I had heard from a friend that the salmon were back in Lynn Creek, so off we went to take a look.

We headed over to Lynn Canyon Park, meeting up with friends and dogs, ready to see what nature had in store for us. Heading down the trail to Lynn Creek was a little difficult. Most of the way there are stairs, but the last little bit to the water is quite a steep. Climbing down tree roots on packed or loose dirt we made our way past the small falls to the shallow pools with the salmon.

photo copyright Annette Arndt 2015

photo copyright Annette Arndt 2015

These two were a pair. I'm not sure which was the male or female. 
We watched them hangout together and then every few 
minutes the lower one would shake their tail into the dirt.

photo copyright Annette Arndt 2015

They were so close we could almost touch them, swimming between us, jumping out of the water. Seeing it in person was breathtaking. Before we knew it, two hours were gone like that. The exercise, fresh air did the trick. Nerves were calmed, sleep came easily that night.

Another thing that I love to do when my nerves are frazzled is draw in my sketch book. I have been trying to draw, paint or colour as much as I possibly can lately. In doing so I’ve created a few adult colouring pages. As promised in a previous post, I have a free adult colouring page available today. It is available to my readers for personal use only. Download the pdf, print it out on your printer and start colouring, it’s that simple. I would love to see what you have created with it. When you’re finished, please take a picture and post it to my Facebook page. I can’t wait to see what you all come up with!