The little chunk of the world where my family, friends, neighbours and I reside is looking ahead to the last weekend of summer. On Monday we celebrate Labour Day. The night before, once the sun has faded to twilight, after fireworks brighten the dark night skies, we will begin our goodbye to the lazy, carefree weeks we enjoyed through July and August.
Because one week from today, it’s back to reality.
Everywhere you turn these days you’ll be seeing promotions for back-to-school. In retail outlets, posters and advertisements are touting that they have everything kids need to get back to the business of learning. This week, then, parents will be rushing out to get the last-minute deals on school supplies and fashions for their exuberant young students.
I used to love those mall outings with my four kids in the dying vacation days before a new school term began. Despite the fact that not all of them were as eager as others.
Feminism aside, the sexes really can be quite different in how they approach things. I never kept my boys from playing with dolls if they wanted, nor did I ever take a truck away from my girls. It was never necessary; their interests were predictable.
It was no surprise then, that the shopping excursions typically involved a lot of grumbling from the males and plenty of enthusiasm from the females. Especially when it came to fashion. The more clothes dumped into the change room for my daughters the better. My requests for them to come out and model each outfit were met with enthusiasm too. When it came to my sons, however, I generally had to take them at their word that things fit.
Even, perusing the aisles for pencils, papers and books The girls typically made a list while the boys had no idea what they needed. A summer filled with freedom had left little room in those heads it seemed for any practical exercise.
What we all enjoyed, however, even in spite of the boys’ recalcitrance, was plenty of laughter. There was good-natured teasing and the sharing of inside jokes, often at my expense. The distaste in my mouth over losing the battle on where to have lunch and finding myself at McDonald’s, was soothed by the pleasure of watching my kids just enjoy being together.
Spending a day with them, knowing that with every passing year made these times more precious, was lovely. I usually hated to see it end.
Especially since arriving home gave me time to take stock of the economic impact of this shopping extravaganza. While bargain hunting had been the order of the day, it still did cost a lot of money to get the job done. Nothing comes that cheap.
So, as everyone’s out spending money in the next few weeks getting their youngsters and teens in fashion-fit condition, seeing that backpacks have all the necessary supplies, and kitchens are stocked with lunchbox essentials, I thought it might be a fun to throw out the word free. Check out these terrific free Photoshop resources:
Free Photoshop Resources from iCLIPART.com’s Pinterest Board
