School Countdown

With humidity high and condensation all over the windows, it's not hard to feel like this is summer, but summer for all intents and purposes ends with the first day of school in about three weeks. Still a long time away but definitely the beginning of the window to get ready.

And so yesterday, Mama hit some stores to pick up clothes and shoes before Tax-Free week ends here in CT. And I was at another store finding things to put in the kids' Schultute, or school cones (apologies for the lack of an umlaut, can't find it), mainly stickers, post-its, pencils, and calculators (just for fun and only a dollar). We have lunch kits (new--Hello Kitty for her, dinosaurs for him), plus all the cloth napkins and food containers from last year. We still need some more healthy snacks and more index cards to write all the notes we put in their lunchboxes each day. And I am sure there are other things I'm forgetting (though, at least this year, I have left the emotional anguish off my list!).

But besides the list of things to do to get ready for school--like haircuts, labelling everything, completing our school health forms--there is another list of things we want to do before summer is over, including:

• make ice cream in our ball one more time
• plant grass in our painted chia pet containers
• complete our t-shirt painting project
• make our time capsule
• make little photo books for them to take to school about what they did this summer
• make fruit pizza
• go to the train museum one more time
• go to the aquarium one more time
• go to Ma and Gong's for a sleepover

And so, between those two lists, I can't decide if school is coming too quickly or too slowly. Regardless, of course, it is coming. And to my friends whose kids are starting this year, either first year of preschool or kindergarten, I'll be thinking of you these next few weeks and hoping you get your lists done, too. And without much emotional anguish . . . .