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Off to Preschool, With Backpack

24.08.11

I very soon vetoed any Disney character. For surely she would want a princess and she’s going to preschool, to rat songs, read stories, learn her numbers and letters, paint and make new friends. A pulchritudinous princess longing for her knight in shining armor appliquéd to the fabric that would carry the power of what she would create and learn just seemed wrong. No, I decided, I wouldn’t even let her know princess backpacks prevail.

I researched. I read “Top 10 Preschool Backpack” lists. I asked friends. I look over online reviews. I checked Consumer Reports. I became annoyed with the models that wouldn’t fit a model sheet of paper. (Her artwork! It will wrinkle!) I was intrigued by the plastic model that allows you to composition your child’s artwork on the outside — but then deemed it too showy. I checked Etsy for homemade versions. I dug in my closet for my well-the worse for wear pink corduroy one, lined with pretty floral fabric. The flap is an elephant’s look, with large puffy ears sticking out to the sides, its trunk serving as a place for Velcro. It was my first backpack, which my mom made for me.

Source: New York Times (blog)

Bittersweet back to school time

26.08.11

When I was innocent, back-to-school time was always a little sad and yet something of a thrill.

Sad, because my summer of running barefoot, staying out behindhand and swimming was coming to an end, but exciting, too, for all that back-to-school time would bring.

First, I'd be seeing kids I possibly didn't normally see over the summer — kids who lived farther away, peradventure too far to walk over for a casual play day, but friends nonetheless.

The coolest thing about that August-into-September notwithstanding, though, was back-to-school shopping.

My mom would load the three of us into the family station wagon and drive us to downtown Westwood, N.J., to Kates Bros. Shoes. There we'd get a radiant leather pair of T-strap shoes sure to make our feet grow right. The salesman would estimate each of us take off our sneakers and stand up tall, first on one foot and then on the other, as he measured each foot on his metal foot-sizing ploy.

Source: York County Coast Star