Even though I no longer have school-aged children, I still enjoy thumbing through the Back -to-School sale circulars. I think it must be that little girl inside of me that still wants neat stuff.
When I was growing up, we were lucky to get an 8-count box of Crayons. (And even then, it was most likely not a name brand, but simply a generic box of "colors"). I awe at the selections available now. Crayon towers- Crayons that glitter and glow and explode. Fat, skinny and gi-normous crayons.
I was perfectly happy to get a little red hand sharpener, but now there are multi-colored sharpeners in neon colors with batteries and sounds and cool shapes and sizes. Makes a kid just wanna sharpen colors and pencils all day long!
Then there are Highlighters- such cool tools that I never had in school. The bright yellow, lime, and pink markers that assist in labeling important sections of a lesson. Or, in my case, I'd have all my notebooks and folders decorated with highlight art.
Speaking of folders, mine was usually a plain giant three-ring binder with special tab dividers. Now they have binders and portfolios and 5-star spiral notebooks. They are available with popular teen stars and logos and movie posters. Barbie, Hannah, HSM, and Batman gloss the front of countless paper options in every WalMart.
Then there are things that we never even thought of having or asking for. Like locker mirrors, digital combination locks, super-cool gym shoes, sticky-notes, back packs, and fancy calculators.
I wonder just how much better my grades would have been if I had used a laptop to take notes during lectures, instead of a pencil.
I just wonder how much more popular I would have been if I had carried a Monkees notebook,
a tower of Crayons, or whipped out a day-glow Highlighter in Science class.
I wonder if I would have made the cheer leading team if I had those bouncy gel sole shoes.
I wonder if I would have passed Algebra One if mom had bought us a pocket calculator.
I wonder if the 5-star is really that much better than the 1-star...
While grocery shopping today, I will probably make a quick run through the school supply aisle.
Just to smell the fresh crayons, new notebooks, Elmer's glue and dry-write markers. Just to see the rainbow of colors and tons of choices and a bunch of cool stuff that I never had.
And maybe- just maybe- to see some little girl getting excited about starting school.
