Since this is my first blog (that's pretty sophisticated and hi-tech, right?), and due to the fact that it's taken me hours just to get what little there is on here, I'll start with a topic I could go on for ages about and make it worth your while to read. Anytime I get to do something new and exciting, I'm reminded of getting ready for the First Day of School. That was the BEST! Now, I went to a Catholic school, so there was no ceremonious picking of a First Day of School Outfit. But, better than that, were the fresh smell of school supplies.
I grew up in the days before Target and Walmart, and not that it mattered anyway, but I couldn't begin to tell you where we went to pick them out. The store wasn't important. I don't know about my sister, but for me, that glorious list of school supplies, was like a vision into the heavens.
No. 2 pencils, which were cropping up in a festival of outrageous colors and design, were coveted to ensure they would last the whole year. Those Pink Pearl erasers, with their odd slanted edges (can anyone please explain why they weren't just rectangular!?) were held in high esteem because of the fancy cursive script printed on them; any company who embellishes their product with that little touch of fancy is #1 in my book! No, I haven't forgotten erasable pens, but I think we all know that was never meant to be. The promise of never having to empty out another pencil sharpener, the reality of bright blue smudges across your paper....
Although notebooks were probably the first item I went for, their stock rose as I got older and teachers began requesting the notebooks that had separate pockets to distinguish subjects. Folders and binders were not as exciting back then as they are now; so they were usually second in order; I was lucky to find a folder with a cute kitten or a solid color other than something in the primary range. The jackpot was around junior high, when binders started showing up with clear plastic covers that allowed you to place personal items on your binder without worrying about their eminent destruction! Those coveted oilies and puffy stickers you traded half your collection for, the class photos, doodles from friends, etc. were now outliving the binders they were trapped in.
But the ultimate was when I got to the "art supplies" aisle.::pause to revel in the memory:: Of course, there was that savored moment when I was finally victorious and my mom ceased her resistance to my desperate need for the ginormous box of 96 crayons with the sharpener in the back (I was never dumb enough to use it, I witnessed enough crayon carnage by my friends to know better). Colored pencils, although exciting, saw a short novelty span. Why use colored pencils when you could use MARKERS! I still remember the squeak of the styrofoam when I pulled off the flimsy cardboard sleeve to my first set of Mr. Sketch scented markers.
The Holy Grail of school supplies was of course when an insightful and inspired teacher would request a set of watercolor paints. How awesome was the promise of a school year with watercolor paints on the supply list! At the opposite end of the spectrum, were the teachers who would begrudgingly pull out ancient watercolor paint sets with crunchy brushes and paint pots with holes burrowed into the centers; and don't get me started on the doofus who had the set before you and let the yellow turn a puke brown or florescent green!
Finally, there were the containers to keep watch over the precious cargo. Plastic zipper pouches were useless, the plastic slide closure came off within weeks if not days, allowing everything to spill into your desk and have to duke it out with your textbooks. Proper metal zipper pouches were good, but lacked penache and heft. Cardboard "cigar" boxes were laughable, the tops were always prone to rippage. If you could get plastic, it was great, but scarce when I was in grade school unless you wanted it adorned in Hello Kitty. Oddly enough, most of my supplies ended up housed inside boxes that were not intended for the use I so greatly desired. Random wooden boxes with slide top closures were the kind that accompanied me to school with my valuables. At the time, I couldn't have told you what their original cargo was, but a few years ago I found a similar box at my parents house in the hall closet that is part liquor pantry, part kitchen supplies. I'll let you guess which part of the closet my old school supply boxes came from...but what did I care where the box came from-it was the magic that was contained inside that mattered!
Of course, being the sophisticated grown-up I am now, I would gladly take the original contents from that box, but only if we can hit the school supply aisle on the way! Hey, it wouldn't be the first time in my grown-up life that I had purchased crayons and a coloring book, you'd be surprised how much fun you can have with a crayon tower that holds 150 (yes! 150) and a PowerPuff Girls coloring book...wait, how old am I?
*ok, ok, I know, I forgot scissors and rulers and glue...I'll sum up. Scissors were metal and supplied by the school-there was always a fight over who got the sharp pointy edged scissors or got stuck with the round edged "safety" scissors. Rulers were wood with slick metal edges (that always gave your fingers zebra stripes if you used markers) or the plastic kind that shattered into a million dagger-like shards when you shoved your books in too forcefully...hey, no one said math wasn't dangerous! Glue, what can I say, it came in white.
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