I'll Never Be Too Old for Back to School Shopping

All summer long I pretend that the dog-days will roll by slowly and that they will be filled with friends, sunshine, and “cook-out” food. By this time every year in August, at least half of that sentence is true. Despite a delightfully busy nannying and Lia Sophia party schedule, I have always managed to find time to relax a smidge and occasionally enjoy a few hamburgers and frosty beverages. 

I also find time to be increasingly cranky towards the “Back to School” sales that start pushing into my summer three hours after the last fireworks on the Fourth of July. The stores that were promoting pool toys and bathing suits on July 3rd are suddenly toting stellar savings on school supplies and clean khaki pants.  My annoyance builds steadily throughout the summer as I listen to radio commericals, TV commercials, and unburden my mailbox from those colorful flyers.  How many sales on crayons can one store have?! 

But, I have a secret. Despite my annoyance at the intrusion of “Back to School” specials during my summer vacation time, I LOVE to go “Back to School” shopping.  Two weeks before the start of school I feel myself sneaking glances at the flyers I hated a week before. I admire from afar the back packs, notebooks, and pencil cases in the aisles. Even taking time to remember my own pristine, little pencil case with organized erasers and pencils from back in ‘95.  Ah, the good ol’ days of anxiously waiting to wear my new school clothes and fill up the pockets of my back pack!

Through the years, my “Back to School” shopping has obviously transformed with me. Cute erasers and pencils turned into binders, divider sheets, and calculators and then into dorm room supplies for my last educational journey into college. These days I believe that I am still not too old for “Back to School” shopping trips. As a substitute teacher during the rest of the year, I pick out new trousers and a new blouse to match some of my favorite Lia Sophia jewelry pieces. If I am feeling extra excited for the start of school, I’ll pick out new pens and a notebook for my yearly adventures as a sub. Eventually, I hope my “Back to School” shopping will transform again for one final time. Instead of picking out  “teacher clothes”, I hope to start buying supplies for my very own classroom. 

Despite the sales push of back-to-back holidays from the retail world, I still get excited with the fancy flyers and catchy TV jingles. I suppose I will never be too old to participate in “Back to School” shopping with the masses.