Thought and Poem

Thought - August 2, 2014

Whether we like it or not, summer vacation from school is almost over and soon school will be starting up again. If you are going shopping for school supplies and clothing for your children or grandchildren make sure you add a “wig” to your list of what you will need to buy. After an afternoon in stores with the little ones, we might want to or will pull all our hairs out of our heads.

Children’s perception of what they need to start a new school year is not the same as what we think they need. I can remember my daughter when she was about 12 years old throwing herself to the floor in front of the hallway closet (she also had a personal closet in her bedroom) and she was crying because she had “nothing to wear!” In disbelief, I bagged up all the clothing of hers in the hallway closet and threw it out to the trash. Now she had a reason to cry! I got the “Meanie Mother of the Day” award on this particular day. I wasn’t really meaning to be mean, but I figured if she was crying because she didn’t have anything to wear, then I what she was really saying was that she wasn’t going to be wearing any of her clothes that were hanging in a cramped hallway closet. So, I emptied it. Now she was crying because she thought I had been mean.

I poured myself a drink! Or, I may have drunk it straight right out of the bottle. I think I was drinking Classic Coca Cola at the time! To me this was strong enough to kill anything that would cause me to develop stomach ulcers from the stress I was undergoing. As I drank my fill of Coca Cola, I thought about how different a parent and their children see things. Then I thought about my daughter’s tantrum and wondered what she was going to be like if I took her clothes shopping with me to the store. If she could do what she was doing now behind closed doors, I didn’t really want to know what she would do in the store if we did not agree over what to purchase.

So here are a few suggestions I have, that might save you money by not having to buy that wig on the list. Number one; NEVER give the child eye contact in the store. This way you won’t have to keep seeing the “whites” as they continually roll their eyes at you. Number two; NEVER go shopping with their friends in tow. Having friends tag along would make the vote for an item two against one! Number three; NEVER use the word “maybe” when they ask if they can get the item they are wanting. To children, “maybe” means “yes” no matter how much you try to differ. Number four; Keep a box of tissue in your purse. One of you is going to need tissue to wipe away tears and if it really turns out to be a bad day, you may both need them!

What about you? What do you to prepare your young ones for the new school year and how do you stick to a list and budget and not be pressured to consent to the will of a child when shopping for new school clothes? Share your thoughts with us…Jeanne Claire Probst

Back-To-School Woes!

School is about to start up again.

The students in your family will need paper, pencils and pens.

They will also need new clothing,

And a whole lot of other “things!”

The other “things” will depend on what their peers will be getting.

And then they will have to buy same as them so that they will blend in.

Then all the children in the school will see,

That they all have the same things and no one will stand out differently!

Now when I went to school it was taboo if two people dressed the same,

And if you did, you were embarrassed and tried to hide your shame.

You wanted to stand out as different and created a style of your own,

And you claimed it as your style and your style alone.

Not so much today.

Children don’t think the same way.

They want what the next person has,

And trying to compete with a school full of kids can drive a person mad!

So each school year we go through the same thing,

And trying to agree on what is needed and what to get can wear your nerves thin.

So brace yourself as the Department Store flyers come in the mail and to your front doors,

And prepare to have a back-up plan on how you will get through this moment when the time comes for you with your children in tow, to go to the stores.

Jeanne Claire Probst

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