I am grateful for every moment I have with my amazingly independent and spirited daughter (with full sass as witnessed above). But, I am also grateful for every moment that I have to myself. Back to school is always bittersweet. On one hand it reminds me that I let another Summer season go by and didn’t quite do all the fun things that I had planned during the Spring, but on the other hand it means that a more structured routine is on it’s way and sometimes that is a beautiful thing.
Each Fall, we are inevitably faced with the daunting back-to-school supply shopping, and while the lists can seem extensive and sometimes confusing, the end result is that we are helping to make a teacher’s job just a little bit easier. I don’t remember my parents having to buy supplies when I was young, but then again I don’t remember a lot of what my parents did for me day-in and day-out. I also don’t remember all of the small things that every one of my teachers did for me everyday that helped make me the person that I am today.
Schools face a constant lack of funding, and all our teachers ask of us is a few supplies so they can make our kids better human beings.
Last year’s viral video from @OneFunnyMother is one that has stuck with me. While I don’t necessarily subscribe to every word of this video rant, it does a great job of highlighting the importance of teachers and the respect that we should be showing them all year round. Every time I feel myself sighing that I need to by supplies, I think to myself “somewhere someone out there is willing teach my kids about history, and they want a yellow binder to do it?….I’m going to get them a yellow binder!”
My daughter’s 2nd grade supply list was quite short this year, but we got everything, plus a few extras. School starts on Monday, and my daughter is still young enough that she is excited and can’t wait for school to start. I want her to hold on to this for as long as possible, and if a couple extra highlighters get her excited, then throw them in the cart!
My daughter is getting smarter and better prepared for the world ahead of her on a daily basis, and to every amazing and selfless teacher out there, we THANK YOU! You deserve all the support, patience and yellow binders this world can provide!
Founder of Shoulders With Freckles and SUMMERSKIN, as well as a Pharmacist, Melanoma Survivor & Mom.
