Back to School

BY ALISON RAMSEY



When I flip back through the photo albums to my daughter’s first day of kindergarten, I see an Incredible Hulk backpack half as tall as she is. Clutched to her chest, the bag bulges with markers, HB pencils, exercise books with fat lines, and a lunchbox containing the first in a long, long line of capicolli-on-whole-wheat sandwiches.



Above the gleaming silver sneakers, crisp chequered pants and spotlessly white long-sleeved shirt is a tense little face wearing a strained smile.



All ready to go and feeling just like me: completely unprepared.



You wouldn’t think it would be possible, but it happens every year. On paper at least, it’s easy to plan for the annual school re-entry. The first day of class is predetermined the previous June; flyers advertising duo-tangs for a dime apiece and three erasers for $1 fill the mailbox in early August; and increasingly shorter evenings are a daily reminder summer is coming to an end ? so how come I’m never ready?



The economics of a new school year vary greatly from one September to another. But back-to-school spending generally ranks second only to the wallet-thinning Christmastime spree, according to the Retail Council of Canada. A long list of school supplies is necessary to enter each new grade, along with fresh gym togs, an outfit or two, and ever-higher school fees. Then there are the inevitable variables: a foot growth spurt forces your hand on new shoes, and an eye exam dictates glasses.



I know that I’m lucky to have a shopping list that doesn’t yet include a computer or text books. For now, lunchtime monitor fees are startling enough. (When did Quebec successfully slough off its responsibility to supervise kids during school hours? What’s next: parents taking turns driving the school bus?)



The biggest ? and usually least successful ? effort in the last days of summer is trying to ratchet back bedtime. Experts agree it’s a human tendency: We prefer staying up late to going to bed early. Especially the younger set, who love the illicit thrill of sharing in adult activities such as a fireworks show or a drive-in movie.



Unfortunately, understanding the phenomenon doesn’t help as I struggle to regain control over happily slipshod summer bedtime practices. Let’s see…my daughter’s natural summer wakeup is around 8, the bus comes at 7: 30, so that means I have to tug back bedtime by five minutes each day starting August 4. Yeah…right.



Hours of shopping, labelling everything from clothes to 24 coloured pencils, and stocking the pantry with peanut-free snacks ? nothing’s enough to guarantee a smooth start. Waking up to the first day of school is an unhappy occasion, although parents everywhere collude to pretend it’s wonderful.



The sad fact is that sweet summer’s over, even though it isn’t yet Labour Day.



My smallish sand-caked companion is gone. No more lazy, hot days building bridges of shared experiences: discussing whether the campsite spider thinks it’s invisible perched on its favourite spot ? the SunMaid raisin box — watching bees nuzzle the sweet peas, cycling further along the bike path than ever before.



Now on her way into Grade 4, my daughter is canny enough to know that the delightfully relaxed first day of school bears no resemblance to what the rest of the year will bring. Unprepared? Yes. But if the alternative is spending time thinking about short, cold days punctuated with homework ? then unprepared is exactly what we want to be.

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