I don’t know how people do it. I mean, really. These lists of required school supplies? I know that some schools are worse than others with these. I don’t know how long or short other people’s kids’ lists are… but ours seem real long to me. Especially when there are THREE lists (I cannot imagine what this is like in large families with many children).
We conquered the lists today. The bambinos and me. At Staples. ALL MORNING LONG. (Not really, it was actually only 1 hour + 15 minutes, but it seemed like it was allllll morrrrrrning looooooong.) I had laid in bed last night, unable to sleep, trying to plan my strategy for this monumental task. I think we did a pretty good job of it (I walked in, the three of them trailing behind, on a mission, and projecting all the confidence in the world [all the while shaking in my boots], the lists on clipboards, a pen for each one of them, three baskets in the cart, and we went aisle by aisle until we had everything checked off that we could). Still, it was enough to make an end-of-summer-mother-almost-lose-her-marbles.
Really. I should have just done it myself. But I had no babysitter today (and I need to use my babysitting time VERY carefully this week — as things are up and running with First Week of Classes at Lehigh, but school is not yet started for the bambinos). And I figured we’d just make it happen.
It did happen. But I left Staples feeling like I should get an award, or at least a gift card or something, just for having pulled it off without completely losing my mind.
There was no award. Instead, we went out for pizza for lunch. The kids thought that was awesome.
We’ve got the school supplies. The whole lot of them. Somehow, miraculously, we pulled it off.
We’ve got the new sneakers too, and the back-to-school clothes (for the most part), and we’re working on the rest of the million details that go into the Back to School Project.
Our first day of school is nearing. These last few days of “summer” don’t really feel like summer at all. We teeter between “can’t wait for school to start” and “wish it would never come.”
Our kids are at a school where there are NO supply lists; all school supplies are provided–as well as free breakfast, snacks, lunch, and dinner–to every child in the school regardless of income. It is a public magnet school, and its mission has a social justice component. I was prepared for those lists, but they are not part of our school.
I’ve always wondered why Staples and other stores that carry school supplies don’t just charge a fee for parents who want to drop off their lists. The stores could then pull together the supplies, box them up, and give them to the parents. Seems like it would be a win-win for everyone.
OMG that sounds intense! Today I coordinated a cinema outing with a 20 ladies (with various subgroups coming from different places – some of them completely going to the beat of their own drum) it started off as a highly coordinated mission (with tickets purchased prior and meeting point and time agreed) but part-way through recognising that I had to just go with their flow (a flow of a certain culture where time and space is quite loose)!And to a friend in the group (she and I were of the different culture) when I relayed the chaos of getting one subgroup here (with another subgroup still at another location – with our tickets — in my attempt to share responsibility and ensure accountability!) she laughed describing it as a “comedy of errors” — so while I was seated and finally when the last ladies arrived late, I did feel like I deserved an award for somehow pulling it off despite that some of them were in the incorrect seats (causing annoyance for other patrons — here we have assigned movie seating)…
Well done Heather!!!! I remember as a kid pouring over the school supplies list — loving it and my mother hating it thinking it was a huge waste of time and money — bemoaning that each school year we needed new coloured pencils and then having to label them….oh fun times!
I totally get that “We teeter between “can’t wait for school to start” and “wish it would never come.”
Hope your first week of school goes wonderfully!!
– Kate
I have twins who also make shopping less than exciting for me (although now that they are 10 it’s much easier!) so a few years ago I started using the online versions of staples or office max. It takes me about 15 minutes to get it all done and then this huge box arrives a few days later (free shipping and I almost always have a coupon, too!) and the kids get to paw through it all. Easy peasy!!
Yay! That’s what I am going to do next year!!!