Back-to-school season has always been an exciting time for me. As a kid, I always loved school.

We lived on the outskirts of McHenry, and unless we made specific plans with our friends, my brother and I were on our own. Going back to school meant that I’d get to see my friends every day.

Having the structure of learning different subjects throughout the day also appealed to my inner nerd. No longer was I expected to come up with things to engage my brain; there were teachers to do that.

During the summer, my mother would have a list of chores that my brother and I would have to accomplish before we’d have our unstructured play time. We had a small farm, so there were always weeds to pull, lawns to mow, chickens to feed or clean up after and the like. I don’t regret any of that now, but

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