School Supplies

The back-to-school bug has bit again.  That should explain the change in my blog's appearance.  For the first few days of school last week, I had the song "New Shoes" (now on my play list) in my head.  I even bought a pair of new shoes for myself this year!  We've made it to Labor Day weekend and it's going well for all so far!
In honor of this new school year, I want to post a column that ran in the Aberdeen American News on 9/3/06.  (I used to write an occasional column when they had a Human Relations page in the Sunday paper.)  This column received more comments than any other I wrote.  My favorite was from a friend who raised 9 children.  She said she never let her children go to school without a new box of crayons. 
It's been 5 years since I wrote this and guess what--I still love the smell of new school supplies in August. :o)

There's just nothing prettier than a new box of crayons. OK, maybe there are a few sights that hold a tiny bit more beauty, but not many. The bright, untouched colors perfectly arranged in their yellow box are not unlike a rainbow --- fleetingly beautiful.
Autumn is my favorite time of year and not just because of the crunching leaves and cooler weather. Autumn brings school supplies. Just when the world is starting to look a little worn out and the fun of summer is coming to a close, stores stock up on the brightest markers, crayons, notebooks, pens, and pencils a student could ask for.
One of my favorite movie quotes of all time is from "You've Got Mail," as New York City approaches autumn. In one e-mail, before they actually meet, Tom Hanks tells Meg Ryan that he would like to buy her "bouquets of sharpened pencils." How romantic is that!? Seriously, sharpened pencils would be much more practical and long-lasting than roses, and so much more creative. However, 90 percent of the women reading this would probably not agree with me, so guys, make sure you know your girlfriend or wife well enough before attempting such a gift with her.
I admit, the first back-to-school ad has always been a little unsettling. (Who wants to be reminded of summer's brevity in the middle of July?) By August, though, there is no denying that a new school year is fast approaching, and by then I am always ready to saunter through the aisles --- even now when I no longer have the need to buy anything.
When I am in the school supply aisle, I am taken back to my days as a student. My favorite days of school were always the first days. They always included a new school bag holding the completed school supply list from the newspaper (sans Trappers, which are still banned from my alma mater. Are they even made anymore? If they are, I would like one, since I was deprived of that necessity as a child. But I digress . . . ) With it, I held a determination to make the new year better than the last. This would be the year I would actually read all of my assignments, keep my desk organized, and practice my flute the prescribed 100 minutes a week for my band lesson.
There was just something so magical about that new school bag stuffed with the newest things. It represented the new school year about to start. Everything it held was exciting, brand new, and in perfect condition.
Within a few weeks, I would be skimming my reading assignments, stuffing my folders in my desk with no desire to organize, and be practicing maybe 30 minutes a week. (I loved band. I just wasn't much for the practicing part.) I would be tired of lugging my books home and my friends and I would have had our first argument on the playground. Every year was much the same, as I expect it still is today.
The first day of school is a little Jan. 1 --- it starts out with new hopes, dreams, expectations and resolutions. In a few weeks, the notebooks will be used, the folders bent, the crayons broken and the books way too heavy to carry home. But, until then, everyone gets a brand new start.
If you are a student, may this be the year you keep those resolutions.
Try buying the big box of crayons with the sharpener built in --- it just may make that excitement of the first weeks last a little longer.