Back to School - Pass the freshly sharpened pencils

By Susan Gallacher-Turner
It's that time of year again, back to school ads with teary-eyed moms and excited little kids clamoring onto bright yellow school buses. Ah, it does bring back many, many memories, doesn't it? As the song says, "I've been on both sides now."

As a school girl, I wore a uniform to school. I got a new white blouse, new navy socks and new shoes. The new shoes were a really big deal, especially the year I got black velveteen saddle shoes. I know sounds weird, now, but then, I loved those shoes and couldn't wait to wear them to school. My other big thrill was new school supplies. New notebook, binder paper, dividers(at least these had colored tags), ruler, classic yellow pencils and crayola crayons.

As a mom, my budget was tight for back to school clothes and supplies. I shopped sales well before the 'big day', so my daughter and son could have as much as they needed and wanted. I loved the fact that they could wear 'regular' clothes. No uniforms for them! I let them pick out their new clothes and shoes within reason and budget, of course. Buying school supplies was fun, too, because their supply list included extras like colorful markers and watercolors.


Now that both my 'kids' have graduated from college, there's no back to school shopping for me to do. Ok, I miss it. I love that quote from the movie, 'You've Got Mail', when Tom Hanks(Joe Fox) says, "Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address."

So, now, I ask you blogger friends out there, what would you buy yourself for back to school? You trade your list, I'll trade mine.

Here's a start...

Back To School List (for not going back to school)
Freshly sharpened pencils in a rainbow of colors
New pens - Pilot G-2's and Micron 005 with .2 mm line width in black
Black or Natural sketch book unlined recycled paper.
Something colorful, like crayons but not crayons. (Maybe it's time to try encaustic?)

Outfit...Hmm, something comfy, cool, and creative...but what?

Do I have to buy only traditional school supplies? No. So, let's all think outside the traditional school pencil box. If you could buy yourself a new 'school supply' what would it be? What bus would you catch and where would it be going?

If you'd like to see some of my art work, my website is Susan Gallacher-Turner Sculpture. And you can read more about my creative life on my blog, Sculpting A Life.