All four of my children will return to school in about seven short days. I am not talking about the online experiment that my children endured for two years due to you know what. I am talking about “real” school or “school” school, as the twins would call it. The twins will experience having friends and teachers, recess, and everything else that school offers. Oh, the absolute joy of actually having them return to in-person school is indescribable. I think I am more excited than they are because it is a chance for me to reclaim those eight hours or so they will spend out of the house daily. Don’t get me wrong, I love them, but I have put so many projects on hold, and now I am ready to move ahead.
In-Person School Returns, and I am Not Ready
But here’s the kicker, I am so not prepared. I know, right, I have been counting down the days since their school was closed in June, and now that it is almost here, I am not ready. How is this possible, you may ask? Well, I have been saddled with the kids’ activities this summer. Soccer has taken over our life; between Eli and Anayah, they have practice and games every day except Saturday. I have also been busy trying to plug the gaps in their academics and getting the twins up to speed with their reading. The few minutes I have that I can call downtime, I am working on my writing or spending time with the family.
I have gotten spoiled from having the children home from school for two years because the first day of school meant logging on to a computer. They were home, so they did not require anything other than the laptops. I promised myself I would start making a list this week, and so far, it’s looking grim. Hopefully, there are many options online because I will not find the time to make it to any store with everything else we have going on.
Returning to In-Person School – The Shopping Process
So what does back-to-school look like for us this year? So it’s everything times four. I used to do what I call upcycle clothes in the past. In Guyana, where I am from, we have a way of identifying clothes. If clothes are reserved for being worn in the house, we call them house clothes, clothes worn for special occasions; we call going out clothes, clothes for attending church services were `church clothes, and so on. From a young age, we learned not to mix them up; we knew what was what. If, for some reason, we forgot, our moms would be there to remind us quickly. Oh, fun times.
But I digress; in the past, I would use some casual going-out clothes from the previous year as school clothes in the current year. Unfortunately, because of the pandemic, I haven’t bought much of anything because we were mainly home, and they have outgrown everything. So I am building four wardrobes for four children from scratch who are growing like weeds. But you know what, this is okay too because they will be out of the house, oh the joy of having them back to in-person school.
My Plan Is To Include My Older Children In The Process
My list so far includes lunchboxes, food containers for the lunchboxes, cozy pants and tights, sweaters, backpacks, and socks, to name a few. I heard a buzz about bento boxes. They come highly recommended by several moms on a Facebook mom group. They look sturdy enough for the twins; they can destroy anything. Eli and Anayah might be satisfied with sandwich bags, but as they get older and “cooler,” I have to try and keep up and not embarrass them. Considering it, Eli and Anayah can actively choose their clothes and everything else they may need. That should make my work easier.
My Reality
So yeah, I started this article at 6 am, and I am now getting done at 535pm, so it’s safe to strike today off the list to do any shopping, but hey, at least I have the list. That should account for something. Here’s to wishing all the last-minute parents a successful shopping experience and your children a successful school year. Above all, here’s to the absolute joy of my children actually returning to in-person school.
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