Back To School Memories

The lead up to back to school was always one of those times of year when Mom broke out the important To Do list. Things like clothes shopping, new shoes, and yearly appointments like the eye doctor and getting our vaccines were always included. Supply shopping had its own list that needed to be checked off. There were also those odds and ends that needed to be picked up that weren’t included on the general list for each student. I always had to get a new water bottle because I would find a way to break mine between school years. (One memorial school year required several water bottles because I couldn’t seem to control my klutzy tendencies whenever my water bottle was around.)

When my siblings and I joined sports the list got even longer. We had to add in sports physicals with the doctor. Then equipment for the sport was added to the supplies list. I enjoyed basketball in elementary school, up until I didn’t hit a growth spurt and was the second shortest kid in my grade. Middle school was filled with volleyball practice and games. Sadly it also consisted of many doctor appointments for sore knees. When high school came around, I did a year of color guard. During the last week of the season is when my left knee subluxed and effectively stopped my foray into athletics.

I joined choir, which meant that some fees would pop up during the year, but at least I didn’t have to rent an instrument. (Tried to play the trumpet for a year, that didn’t work out.) My sister was in orchestra, as a violin player. There were supplies she would need for upkeep.

All of those things sound a bit tedious writing them out like this. But I have very fond memories of the moments leading up to the start of each year. I love new stationary and I was very happy to have an excuse to indulge my obsession. New pens and notebooks were treasured items for me. As I got older, I would figure out what to look for as features in the items that I chose for my supplies. Back packs had to have a certain amount of pockets, and the side ones needed to be able to fit my water bottle, and in my high school years, my morning bottle of pepsi.

This year I found myself missing the steps that would lead up to the start of a new grade. Thankfully as a writer I have reasons to still buy some of my favorite school supplies. Maybe one day I will have kids and they might end up changing my mind on how I fondly look back on the days just before the first day of school, but for now, I will hold on to those moments.