This past weekend was tax-free shopping in Florida. Typically the weekend when parents wait to purchase all their back-to-school supplies and clothes for their little academicians. Since neither of my kids are in a position to need No. 2 pencils or college rule paper, there was nothing I needed to stock-up on for the coming school year.
Still, I made my way into town, hitting a couple of the local shopping malls and office supply stores. It felt awkward.
Other parents were there, overloaded with reams of paper, binders, and packages of pens. Their school-aged kids pushing carts filled with pocket folders, erasers, crayons, construction paper, pencil boxes, boxes of tissue for their new classrooms, Holstein patterned composition books, Spanish language dictionaries, and Hello Kitty backpacks.
Last year, to compensate for no back-to-school shopping, I bought myself a 64-count box of Crayolas and a couple of coloring books. This year my contribution to the economy was to buy a new pen and thin spiral notebook.
Not that I actually needed either of those, but I couldn’t reconcile with not having anyone with a supply list to check off.
I didn’t have a reason to buy clothes to replace what my kids outgrew over summer. No longer do I have a lanky, legged teen wearing jeans three inches too short, no adolescent in tee-shirts too tight to be decent, no middle schoolers who can’t get their sweaters to fit over their wobber-heads. There were no new sneakers or gym shorts, no winter coat to replace the one outgrown over the summer, no school sweatshirts to buy.
My children are no longer children, and I miss this rite of passage from summer to fall.
Submitted as part of Shell’s “Pour Your Heart Out” writing prompt at Things I Can’t Say. Please stop by to read the other posts, and give a little comment love.
Thin spiral notebook 
This makes me cry; as much as I hate the stress of school supply shopping, I know that I am really going to miss it when it goes away.
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My kids are younger but I feel I’m going to be in your position in the blink of an eye. I loved hearing your perspective on this. That sort of disjointed feeling of September having such significance for so many years and then…it changes. When I am where you are now…I may need to go away every September. Like, to Italy or something. That should help.
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I miss back to school time so much and it just reminds me that I really need to get my butt back in school!
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Oh, girl! Such a different stage you are in! Bittersweet. xo
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Awww. I’m not there yet, but I feel that it will arrive all too soon.
I love shopping for school supply stuff (when it isn’t a requirement) – all those fresh notebooks and unsharpened pencils. They make me happy.
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It’s funny, because my PYHO this week is about my worries over my oldest starting preschool. We’re on opposite ends of the back to school spectrum, but the feelings are similar.
Hugs to you!
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awww!!! Makes you think not to take these moments for granted 😀
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Aww, this was such a sweet post.
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What I know in here, Singapore, there will be discount for “back to school” time 🙂
But up to now, I have not need to buy so much because my oldest son is still in nursery class and my youngest will join the pre-nursery class next year. But when it come to “back to school” time, I feel carried away by the pleasure of spending money on coloring books, sticker books, activities book and pencil + crayon.
I also miss their babies time 🙂 but time is running.
I have one post about time, please take a look if you have time 🙂
Please visit my blog and I would be more than happy if you are willing to share your thought there 🙂
Yulia
http://www.mylifeismyrainbow.wordpress.com
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It’s the little rituals that remind us of change, isn’t it! This is a really touching post; I can’t relate to the empty nest sort of experience, but I can relate to the change piece as I’m lamenting the loss of my little V’s babyhood as she is a fully entrenched toddler now. Every time I see an object that was so part of her baby routine, I feel this ache in my heart and throat. Ah, motherhood. Sigh.
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