Back to School Shopping
Norm Spivey Growing up, back to school shopping was an additional annual holiday for me. My family lived in a rural area, and we commuted daily to a larger city for school and work. It was a bit difficult to shop for back-to-school supplies on a whim. The event took some planning and turned into a very special day! It was the last hurrah of summer before the dreaded first day of school. The stoic looks on our boy’s faces in this week’s featured pic from first day of school 2014, pretty much sums up the feelings of most kids about the first day of school.
My mom would take a whole day of vacation from work, and we’d spend the entire day together “in town” shopping for school supplies, clothes and anything else needed for the upcoming year. We’d drive around town looking for back to school bargains. I’d get all my supplies, try on clothes and probably most importantly, make the tough decision on which Trapper Keeper I needed for the year. We always stopped at Taco Bell for lunch which, in the early and mid-80s, was still kind of a treat. It wasn’t that I particularly enjoyed shopping, especially not for clothes. What I loved was the day was focused entirely on me and of course, spending time with my mom.
Not exactly sure how long this back-to-school shopping tradition lasted but I’d estimate 5 to 7 years. I really looked forward to the annual end of summer event from about the 4th or 5th grade until I could drive. Guess I was too cool to go shopping with mom in high school. Yet another one of those unassuming, recurring events in my life that at the time seemed routine, but as I reflect back, really meant a lot to me and I’m sure my mom.
Fast forward to raising my own two sons and back to school shopping. While one similarity to my childhood remained, their mom was in charge, back to school shopping wasn’t quite the same as my fond childhood memories. When the kids were younger, we’d download the “supply list” from school and go secure the crayons, glue and kiddie proof scissors in usually just one trip before school started. Unfortunately, Trapper Keepers passed with the 80s!
We’ve always purchased our boys’ clothes throughout the year so there were really no new clothes to buy for back to school. We enjoy hitting the outlet malls pretty much year-round, which as I recall, weren’t as widespread back in the 80s as they are now. Maybe the kids would need a new backpack or lunchbox for the school year at the most. Once they reached middle school and the school curriculum became much more reliant on digital products, back-to-school shopping declined even more in significance.
By high school, the boys almost entirely complete their assignments via Google docs or email. Something we couldn’t have fathomed back in the 80s! During the school year, we might have to make the occasional run to the store to get batteries for a calculator, a ream of printer paper or perhaps some graphing paper. Case in point, we didn’t shop for one single item for our youngest son who started the 10th grade today! With the onset of high school, dedicated back to school shopping was completely gone in our family.
However, there has recently been a resurgence of back-to-school shopping in our household. As we prepare to drop off our oldest son to college in about three weeks, we’ve spent more time as a family back to school shopping than we have in the past several years. Granted, the list is much different, no crayons or stain proof markers on this list!
Bed, Bath and Beyond is our new headquarters for back-to-school supplies. Sheets, mattress toppers, mini fridges, totes and coffee makers top the list. I must admit, I did not calculate these expenses into the “cost of attendance” for college! Also, it’s not like we can stuff these things in his backpack and send him on his way. I’ve got to work the logistics to get all this stuff to his school about an hour and a half away on move in day!
Our youngest has tagged along on these shopping adventures too, taking copious notes for his college back to school shopping which will be here before we know it in a couple of years. It’s been kind of fun and reminiscent of a time long since passed. I also realize this is probably the last time we will back to school shop with our oldest son while he’s a part of our family. Perhaps, someday he will bring his old parents along when he back to school shops for his own family.
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