Well kids, you’re almost students again. And while it might seem like the beginning of the end of all things good, we assure you that this actually occurs later in life, somewhere between a divorce, filing Chapter 11 and/or figuring out when and whether you’ll retire.

So the bell is tolling for thee and, if you’re not a truant, you’ll be heading off to school here in North Kitsap next week. There are worse things that could happen to you carefree kids than the official end of your summer, right? Right? (elapsed time 5 minutes) … Right?

Of course there are, you just can’t think of them at the moment. No doubt it is the end result of too many hours spent huffing grease fumes at the summer job, baking your noggin in the hot sun while hanging out at the beach, or going cross-eyed and losing the feeling in both thumbs by playing endless hours of video games.

So school’s no longer out for summer, and it certainly isn’t out forever — despite what Alice Cooper says.

In fact, the opposite is soon to be true.

But here you are. Your last weekend of freedom. True freedom, that is. Not like next weekend’s freedom, which will have strings attached in the form of a ritualistic torture our society has come to not only accept but promote.

Yes, homework.

No doubt next Sunday night will be spent reading about anything from a trigonometry story problem to writing a three-page, single-spaced essay on why and how Geoffrey Chaucer influences modern literature. Brutal.

But absolutely necessary.

Why? Or why me? You’re probably asking yourselves.

Why indeed.

What exactly do trigonometry story problems and writing three-page, single-spaced essays on why and how Geoffrey Chaucer influences modern literature have to do with your eventual post school life anyway? Believe it or not, quite a bit.

Not that you’ll be quoting from original version of “The Canterbury Tales” anytime soon or using homogeneus equations in your everyday life, but both — and a great deal more of what you learn in elementary, middle and high school — are important in that they help you to better articulate your thoughts and work through complex problems. In short, they help you become a better thinker.

And while art courses help students think outside the box, other classes tackle the in the box side of things admirably. Is all of it fun? No. Is all of it riveting? Please. But any of it that challenges you as a student is a worthy venture. Your teachers know this and if you don’t already, you eventually and hopefully will, too.

Yeah, yeah.

Deep thoughts and all when you probably just want to enjoy the three-day weekend. Our apologies for the wake-up call but get used to them because the weekdays of not setting your alarm clock are numbered.

Speaking of clocks, the countdown to school maybe ticking away for thousands across North Kitsap, but instead of lamenting the passing of another summer, revel in all the fun you had instead and consider this: chances are when you’ve made the grade, graduated from high school and college, and are employed at your dream job, you’ll be working during what was once “your summer vacation.”

Just a little bitter food for thought.

Even so, take it from your wise teachers, many of whom have been known to say, “If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.”

It’s truer than you think, so enjoy the weekend and get ready to study hard because those dreams aren’t going be realized without your help.