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Mom totally flunks Back-to-School Shopping 101
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Published: September 3, 2009
Back to school shopping has changed a lot in 30 years. My mom didn't carry a supply list. She just wrote down our dress and shoe sizes. We didn't buy No. 2 pencils, we purchased size 2 Buster Brown's.
Today there are specific materials to buy and more of them. The occasion — yes, it's an occasion — is coordinated between stores and schools, which I guess is for the better. But you'll always have parents like me still miss the boat.
If a seminar addressing school supplies is offered next year, complete with detailed information and diagrammed examples, enroll immediately. Because I didn't, and if the adventure was a graded assignment, I'd receive an F.
School supply shopping in the 21st century rivals the annual Running of the Brides event at Filene's Basement. But instead of wrestling for the discounted Vera Wang wedding gown, we're tackling each other for the last pack of Crayola Twistable Erasable Crayons.
Whoever heard of erasable crayons? I searched for weeks, convinced they didn't exist. I finally found a pack and had to wonder: All the years I accidentally let my candles melt into a wax puddle on the coffee table, I could have simply erased the mess?
And speaking of erasers, I'm not sure I bought the correct ones. When I placed my stash in the Eraser Box at the school's open house, mine looked different than the others. I had a flashback to sixth grade when I got the wrong kind of lunch box and the kids laughed at me. Did I just hear that mom standing behind me in line snicker?
As soon as I looked in the Folder Box, I knew I'd bought the wrong kind. Mine weren't plastic. But they had the required three prongs and I purchased the requested colors. I wasn't sure if my cardboard error would be overlooked, so I buried them underneath the others and quickly walked away.
My additions to the Tissue Box were also incorrect. "So that's what they meant by 'no boutique' sizes," I thought, looking at the other Kleenex packages. I stood there in horror, but the teacher assistant assured me "don't worry, they'll get used." "Thank you!" I said with relieved eyes, as I gingerly placed my boutique-sized sniffle catchers with the others.
The good news is this assignment is one you get to repeat each year, so I've got time to perfect the science of school shopping.
Speaking of science (panic, gulp, panic) how soon do parents need to be on the lookout for that scientific calculator I'm hearing so much about?
Kelli Robinson is the stay-at-home mother of two. She lives in Mooresville. E-mail her at kelliwriter@hotmail.com.
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