The Last Back to School

The stores have alluring racks of notebooks in every color of the rainbow, packs of new crayons and a gazillion things you never knew you needed. The newspaper is stuffed with back-to-school ads that feature kids in cute outfits and deals on bulk purchases of underwear. Does America really buy it's underwear in September? It's harder when the kid heading back to school doesn't present a good excuse for a shopping trip for bags of supplies and a new lunch box, nevertheless it's a poignant time of reflection as we face a new start. This year it's bittersweet, the last time a kid will go through the routine of getting organized for a new school year. It's just not the same when they sprint off to college. So I bought a cute notebook and folder just for the experience. Maybe next year I'll dump some stuff in an unsuspecting and distracted young mother's shopping cart, some surprises for her kids. For today, it's time to savor the last few unhurried days of summer. Sleeping beauty can sleep in, no confusion or bumping around in the kitchen, no hurry for the door a few minutes late, no blood pressure rising in the school zone traffic. For today, it's a slow cup of coffee and memories of lots of boxes of crayons, of a cute one who knew herself begging for "just the box of 8" and another one amazed at the built in sharpener in her box of 64. It's a towed-headed boy who was always taller and more mature than his classmates, it's a red "elephant" backpack that went to kindergarten four times. The question for today, how do we use all the stockpiled ruled notebook paper in this last year of school? If anyone runs short, you know who to call.