3 red pens, 6 spiral notebooks, 1 fresh start
Posted at 6:05 am on August 24, 2010 by LauraM
I love school supplies.
That day in mid-July when the giant cardboard point-of-purchase displays go up, filled with crayons and pencils and notepads in every shape and size, makes my heart skip a beat.
Even when I had no children (and no school to attend), I would buy boxes of markers, pens, notepads – whatever. I have a small set of drawers in my office in the basement that is chock full of all those awesome doorbuster deals – a penny for a ruler, nickel for a set of pencils.
Now that my kids are in school, I stick to their lists for the most part. But I can’t help my hoarding instinct regarding school supplies.
To me, they represent more than just a new school year. They’re optimism. A clean slate. A fresh start. The promise of worlds to unlock and brilliance put to paper.
In short, it’s another chance.
When the tattered backpack comes home at the end of the school year with stubby, nubby crayons, shredded papers and folders that look like they have stretch marks, I can’t get rid of them fast enough. Oh, but the markers are still good, you might say. You can melt down the crayons.
I don’t care.
I want the promise of that perfectly molded crayon – Crayola, of course –from the pack of 24 purchased for a quarter, or the crack of the spine on a new binder.
It’s a sickness, I know. My stash of notebooks have recorded years worth of to-do lists, party invitation lists, sketches for floor plans – you name it. Each 70-sheet notebook is a built-in creativity spark that only cost me a dime. Who can resist?
My dear husband, who used to shake his head in disbelief as I’d stack 40-50 spiral notebooks in our cart at Staples, now is grateful that when the 6th grader announces he needs a protractor at 7:30 a.m. or else he will fail – we have one. And the teacher who sends home the note about needing more glue sticks gets a big bag full of them the very next day. This is abundance that can be shared without a second thought.
And yet…every year, the siren call of school supplies pulls me in again. Anyone need a Sharpie??
I’m with you, Laura. I am a Sharpie junkie! I can’t wait to buy supplies for school lists. Ha! That is the one aspect of my older guy going to school that I am looking forward to.