Back-to-School Shopping

Growing up, this was one of my favorite times of year, the back-t0-school season. In the Northwest, the weather begins to shift (or at least it did back then), and you can tell that fall is right around the corner. School shopping was without question the highlight of my summer. My friend claims the main reason I decided to become a teacher was so I would forever have an excuse to go school shopping in August. What can I say? I love clothes. I really do. I love to see the mannequins dressed in all the latest styles as I wander through stores. I love trying on the new clothes. I love being part of the hustle as people scramble in and out of dressing rooms searching for perfect outfit in the perfect size. I love all of it.

Because I will be out of town the last two weeks in August (one week in San Antonio visiting Celeste, and one week in Salt Lake City visiting Shulamith and taking Isaiah to college), the pressure was on to get all the back-to-school shopping done before August 14th. Not that I needed any pressure; school shopping is pure pleasure for me. Last week, I began by taking Seth to Target for school supplies. Eli was with us, lamenting the fact that, as a junior in high school, he no longer has a long list of school supplies to purchase. He told Seth that buying school supplies is one of his fondest memories of elementary school. Me too! The three of us made our way down Seth's list of required items for 4th grade. Next we hit the boys' department for the standard boxers and socks. Eli picked out some P.E. shorts, and we were done with Target.

A few days later, the real fun began. We headed for the West End, where the mall and Kohl's are located. This time, though, it was just Eli and I. Like Shulamith, Eli was destined to carry my last name and to be a shopper through and through. Isaiah and Seth, on the other hand, take after their father (whose last name they bear) and don't much care for the process. Isaiah said he needed jeans, but had no interest in going with us to find them. Seth also needed jeans, along with a backpack, and he was perfectly fine with me picking it out if it meant he didn't have to accompany us to the mall.

So yeah, it was Eli and I all the way. We were missing our other shopping cohort. Sad...Shulamith, but we'll see you in two weeks!! Fortunately, Eli loves to shop, and he is so good at it. I have trained him well. Zumies had a back-to-school special: two pairs of jeans and three shirts for $80. Sweet! Eli took advantage of that deal. Now he just needs a new backpack, and he'll be set. Next we hit JCPenney to find jeans for Isaiah and Seth. Score there too...good sales in both cases. And to top it off, we found a Transformers backpack on sale for Seth.

What an incredible rush! Truly, the silver lining as the end of summer rapidly approaches is back-to-school shopping.

My turn? Do I need a back-to-school outfit? Of course I do! But not without Shulamith. I'll wait to get that until I'm in Salt Lake, and she and I can shop together. I was tempted by some lovely shoes at the Buckle, plaid canvas ones that would be perfect for longboarding, but I resisted. Another day, perhaps.

Happy back-to-school shopping everyone....