the most wonderful time of the year

back to school

book bag and notebooks

book bag essentials

the good stuff

the smell of crayons. the thirty cent filler paper. the chaotic crowds. the happy children. the happier parents. it's back to school time. the most wonderful time of the year. some of my most fond childhood memories are school supply shopping. my parents made a really big deal about going back to school and i always fully appreciated their enthusiasm. it made the end-of-summer-blues disappear and the anticipation of the opportunities in the new year exciting. so whenever i see the superstores haul out their oversized pencil signs, butterflies of excitement fill my stomach. since this was the first year we haven't gone together, i found myself a little sad about growing up. but, i quickly snapped out of it, threw way too much in my cart, and decided to pay my lucky childhood fortunes forward. in a selfish attempt to keep the shopping tradition alive, i picked up some stuff for children served by the non-profit organization i interned for in boston. it made me [deeply] sad thinking that not every kid gets to navigate the aisles of target tossing in all the coolest, color coded crap they can. hopefully when this girl opens her new book bag, she will feel confident to start the school year on the right foot, inspired to do her best every day. hopefully she will be able to stand proud. hopefully she will smile. hopefully she will have fun. just like i got to do all those years.