August 1, 2008
School memories
Do you remember your very first day of school? I remember being really excited about getting to go every day with the “big kids” instead of hanging around the house with my baby brother. We had just moved to the New Orleans area from the little Texas town where I was born and I didn’t have many friends yet, so I was excited about the possible expansion of my social circle, too. My mother made all of our clothes back then and I loved the dress she picked out for my first day. It had a fully-gathered, charcoal gray skirt, a white bodice and a red pleated cumberbund (that was when I learned the word cumberbund.) I thought the word and the dress were terribly grown-up and sophisticated. Oh, and the shoes matched everything, too! Red leather strappy things with the little stenciled-looking cut-outs. I had a red plaid school bag. This was in “the old days,” of course, so we didn’t have knapsacks. My bag was more like a flat satchel and had a rubberized lining that never lost its smell but eventually peeled off in little bits. I still think of that bag when I smell new sneakers (the rubber soles!) or go into a tire store. I had my very own fat crayons and pencils that I wouldn’t have to share with siblings and was going to be riding the school bus with the twins - my older borther and sister. I think Mom and Dad must have taken me to the school sometime during the summer or maybe for registration, because I remember knowing exactly where my classroom was on the huge campus. It was Kenner Junior High School which, for reasons that escape me now, also served as an elementary school. My brother and sister had probably been told to watch out for me since Mom didn’t drive and couldn’t come with us, but I managed to get lost anyway. I could see my classroom, but couldn’t find a way to get into the building. Mrs. Munson must have seen me through the windows and known that I was one of “hers” because someone came out and brought me in. The only other things I remember about that first day is that we learned “Good Morning to You” and the Pledge of Allegiance and there were holes in the desks for ink bottles that no one used anymore!
Things have certainly changed a lot since those days. Would your kids accept a home-sewn wardrobe - and be excited about it? Do little girls ever wear dresses to school anymore, or is it always shorts and jeans? At least my dresses were “all new.” I think the ones Mom wore were probably made from flour sacks and other “found” fabrics. I tried to find my “first day of school” picture this morning, but it seems to be lost along with all of my school pictures. I’m sure I put them somewhere “safe” when I was decluttering and they’ll turn up eventually. Since I can’t show you that, I’ve parked Mom right over there. She’s ten in the photo and looks like she was having a bad day, don’t you think? She’s probably lost her book bag and is surly because her books are cutting into her arm. That’s one thing that hasn’t changed - kids losing things. Arrrrrrrgh! I was the worst! There were so many more important things in life than keeping track of crayons and notebooks that I guess I couldn’t be bothered. How many times did poor Mom have to get a neighbor to bring her up to the school because I’d lost my lunch kit and would have absolutely starved if she hadn’t come to the rescue? How many times did she have to remind me to put my pencils back in my pencil box and my pencil box back in my book bag? It’s the way of kids, of course. My son was pretty good about keeping up with his things, but maybe that was because I put Color labels on everything he walked out of the door with. I always spent the last week before school cutting out and taping little home-made labels to all of his supplies and ironing those scratchy old fabric ones into his clothes. It always paid off, though, the first time I got a call from some mom saying her son came home with a coat that had my son’s name in it. Those of you who have kids in school don’t know how easy you have it! All you need is a Dymo label maker and half of your work is already done for you. I was in line behind a woman buying one last week. True conversation: “Mom, if it makes you happy to put my name in my underwear, okay, but please, please, please don’t put it on my pencils this year. That’s so not cool!” Ah, some things never change!
Technorati Tags: back to school, education, labels, memories, school, school supplies
Posted by skeet @ 2:29 pm • Education
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August 2nd, 2008 at 7:14 am, Veggie Mom Says:
Ahhhh…don’t know which we like more–the first day of school or the shopping for school supplies and new outfits for the first day! Love the story and photos–great stuff!
August 2nd, 2008 at 6:58 pm, skeet Says:
I have mixed feelings about “back-to-school” these days, Veggie Mom. Not having little ones at home anymore, I get my “kid fix” when I shop, and it’s a lot of fun to see their excitement when they’re loading up on new stuff for school. When I need a box of red pens for my office and there are a couple of hundred moms and kids cramming the aisle between me and the object of my desire - not so much, lol!