By Leslie Lindsay
The back-to-school season is upon us. I’m a bit excited about this–not just because my kids are going back to school, thus freeing up some of my time–but because I just adore school clothes and school supplies.
Yesterday, the Pottery Barn Kids package arrived. I knew what was inside: a brown owl print backpack and matching lunch box for my soon-to-be full-day Kindgergartner. She picked it out after weeks of surveying the catalogs that filled our mailbox…Lands End Kids, L.L. Bean, Hannah Andersson, and of course PBK. We would rip out the pages of the packs she liked best and toss the rest of the catalog. But when PBK came in, she fell in love with the brown owls. I ordered…and the delivery man cometh. 
(Please don’t make us out to be snobs. I know how this sounds. But, here’s the deal: I would rather spend a bit more $$ on a pack that will last several years and is sort of classic in style than one that has bling and the character of the year on it for less $$. That’s why I am so loyal to fancy brands like PBK).
But instead of ripping open the box the second it arrived with my little 5yo, I waited. Impatiently. And then I slipped a pair of scissors under the packing tape and–viola–withdrew the cutest little backpack since I don’t know when. I inspected it, zipping and unzipping, looking at the craftsmanship (pretty darn good, but maybe not as as good as it was two years ago when ordered the same pack for my oldest daughter), and smelling it. Yes–I smelled the darn backpack! It’s crisp new scent filled my nose and my heart with pride.
My hubby and I left the backpack and lunch box in my daughter’s room last night as we took one last peek and plopped one last kiss on our “baby” before tip-toeing into our room for the evening slumber. Shhh….the backpack fairy came.
This morning, I awakened to squeals of delight as she found her new school supplies…or the beginnings of. (Actual supplies are being delivered to our door–forget Target’s chaos and my headache this year–via the school’s website/shop).
Today, I headed to Gymboree to redeem my Gymbucks. Gotta love this store. Not only do they really care for their customers and call them by name, but they stand by their products. More than once, I have returned items for random reasons like “the shoes rubbed her feet and she refused to wear them ever again,” to sheer ugliness. (It looked cute in the store, but on my kid it looked like a sack of dog poo). They smiled and cheerfully returned my money. And their new line isn’t all that bad, either. We’re talking sweater vests and plaid shirts–cherries and sunflowers. Now if that doesn’t sound like late summer, then I don’t know what does.
Here’s to back-to-school…my kids don’t know how fun this is!!
And that is what is in my brain today, Thursday July 19th 2012.
Leslie A. Lindsay| Writer & Creative 