The “October Creep”

By Amy Meade

HappyNews Citizen Journalist

Ahhhhh…autumn. Cooler days, crisp evenings, a patchwork quilt of fall foliage, the smell of apples baking and the phenomenon I like to call the "October Creep." Not to be confused with the Oktoberfest, which is a festival of food, drink, and all things German, the October Creep, is a return to a life of 'normalcy.'

No doubt all you parents out there rejoiced when school went back in session, but did you notice that, during the month of September, your sweet darlings seemed to have been replaced by the Pod People from "Invasion of the Body Snatchers?" Around Labor Day, did Junior and Kitten declare - as my stepdaughter did - that this year was THE year? Did they promise to behave and get good grades? Has the area behind their ears been unusually clean? Well, all that's about to change, thanks to the October Creep.

What is the October Creep? It's the period of time between the first day of school and American Thanksgiving wherein all your child's old habits come crawling back. Why is it called the October Creep, when it lasts much longer? Because, although your children may have been gradually slipping back into their former selves, it only starts to become really noticeable around October 1st. Why is it the October Creep and not the October Crawl? Because, like ill fitting underwear, it silently sneaks up on you.

Don't believe me? Take my stepdaughter's behavior over the past month and compare it to that of your own child:

First Week of School:

· Cleans room so that she has an 'open' and 'airy' study area

· Spends her spare time, not on the phone, but organizing binders according to subject

· Color-codes notes according to subject: biology is green, math is blue, etc.

· Purchases an agenda, reserving a section for work, a section for school and a section for telephone numbers and addresses

· Prepares lunch the night before for easy retrieval in the morning

· Showers, washes and blow dries hair the night before so as to decrease the amount of time required for morning ablutions

· Wakes up to the alarm clock 1 hour before she needs to leave for school

· Looks forward to school because she can see the friends she couldn't see all summer

· Tells boyfriend she won't see him during the week because it interferes with homework time

· Answers the question "How was school?" in extensive detail, including teacher's names, subjects taught and homework assignments

Second Week of School:

· Sweeps hardwood floor, makes bed, does laundry but leaves clothes in piles scattered about the room

· Takes a few phone calls from friends, but tries to limit the length of conversations

· Has to rewrite some notes because she used the wrong color ink

· Tucks phone numbers of new acquaintances into agenda with intentions of entering them at a later date

· Declares she doesn't like sandwiches that have been refrigerated overnight, so leaves sandwich-making for the morning

· Showers the night before, but leaves hair drying and styling until very late in the evening

· Wakes up 1 hour before she needs to leave for school, but only because Dad wakes her up

· Looks forward to school because she can see the friends she couldn't see all summer - with the exception of What's-Her-Name, who's being a cow

· Sees boyfriend on alternating school days, but sends him home at 7pm so she can do homework

· Answers the question "How was school?" in extensive detail, but peppers the conversation with the occasional, "My English teacher is psychotic."

Third Week of School:

· Clothes are no longer in neat piles, but scattered all over floor, intermingled with candy wrappers, empty soda cans and a few dust bunnies

· On and off the phone from the moment she gets home until the time she goes to bed.

· Tries to keep notes and homework color-coded, but announces that if she can't, she's "not going to stress out about it"

· Phone numbers and work schedules are written in ink on the palm of her hand

· Decides that making tuna in the morning is too time consuming, so switches to ham and mustard

· Showers the night before AND again in the morning so that she can wet her hair and restyle it

· Wakes up a half hour before she needs to leave for school, but only because Dad wakes her up

· Hates school because she 'has no friends' after the What's-Her-Name incident

· Sees boyfriend everyday after school, but sends him home at 7 pm so she can have "me time"

· Answers the question "How was school?" with "I didn't know my English teacher was basing half our grade on homework assignments…"

Fourth Week of School:

· Room looks like a demilitarized zone. The door stays shut for fear of what the cats may find in there to eat, as well as the fear of what might eat them.

· All three cordless phones are in her room

· Writes notes and homework with whatever pen she can locate

· "Amy, do you remember what hours I worked on Saturday? Oh, and did you happen to see where I put Rachel's number?"

· Lunch consists of a can of pop, two granola bars and a passion flakie

· She's in the bathroom more than she's in school

· After numerous wake-up calls, staggers out of bed with just enough time to get dressed. Applies makeup in the car.

· "When are we going to Grandma's for Thanksgiving? I could use a day off."

· Sees boyfriend everyday after school, sends him home at 7pm, and then talks to him on the phone the remainder of the night

· Before I can even ask, "How was school?", she announces, "Oh, you know how I told you parent-teacher night was next week? And you know how you already signed up and made appointments? Yeah, well, I think they're canceling it …"

Sound familiar? I thought so.

Unfortunately there's no cure for the October Creep, but the good news is, once your child has settled back to where they were the year before, it's pretty much over. Of course by that time, they're already promising that next school year will be different.

This story was produced by a Happy News Citizen Journalist Amy Meade. Amy would like to request that donations be made to Homes of Hope in leiu of contributions to her tip jar.

Amy is a freelance writer who is awaiting publication of her first novel, 'Million Dollar Baby' (no afilliation with the film)in April 2006 by Llewellyn Worldwide's new mystery imprint, Midnight Ink.

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