Back to School

I like to think of myself as a stay-at-home mom with a full-time job. That’s because after spending nearly thirty years at home raising children, I got a job as the librarian of a large middle school where our youngest daughter was a student.

One of the things I relish about my job at school is the opportunity to go back to school in the fall and return to a tradition I love. I get to stand every morning during the announcements that come over the PA system, face the flag, put my hand over my heart and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. I never do this without getting a lump in my throat and struggling to keep my emotions intact. Sometimes, they spill over.

I’m proud to be an American. My pride has many sources. My father-in-law was a prisoner of war in Germany during World War II. Our family was stationed overseas for three years while my husband served as an officer in the Air Force. We witnessed a government and a culture that limits the development of its citizens. I have taken advantage of many of the opportunities our country has to offer, including a chance to get an education, own a home, travel freely from place to place without fear or harm, worship God as I see fit and follow the direction of my personal hopes and dreams.

When I say the Pledge of Allegiance, I feel ownership in the greatest governmental experiment in the history of the world. I feel like the words are my very own, even though I didn’t write them.

So . . . I make this request, like the students who do the announcements over the PA system every morning at my school: Please stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands; one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."