Get the feedJust Six Things to Make the Transition to School More Enjoyable
Wednesday, Sep 15th 2010
1. OPTIONAL TIME
During the school year, it’s particularly hard to manage time -- we have less of it and more demands upon it. In our family, we’ve had a time called, “optional time.” This is a set time during the day (longer on weekends) during which the kids choose their activity. Their options are especially appealing and include activities to which the kids don’t have open access (television, computer, Wii, certain art projects, games with parents). Here’s the catch – the chores, homework, or practice must be complete before the agreed upon “optional time.” If those things are not complete, “optional time” transitions to “catch up time.” with a built in incentive to catch up quickly. (If you hurry, you might still have time to at least feed the Webkinz.)
Is this bribing? I hope not. It certainly feels like life. Today, I want to go to lunch with a friend. But you know, my laundry pile is taller than my son and therefore, I don’t really have the time. (If I work diligently, however, I hope to catch an episode of House this evening!)
by JILL JOINER
During the school year, it’s particularly hard to manage time -- we have less of it and more demands upon it. In our family, we’ve had a time called, “optional time.” This is a set time during the day (longer on weekends) during which the kids choose their activity. Their options are especially appealing and include activities to which the kids don’t have open access (television, computer, Wii, certain art projects, games with parents). Here’s the catch – the chores, homework, or practice must be complete before the agreed upon “optional time.” If those things are not complete, “optional time” transitions to “catch up time.” with a built in incentive to catch up quickly. (If you hurry, you might still have time to at least feed the Webkinz.)
Is this bribing? I hope not. It certainly feels like life. Today, I want to go to lunch with a friend. But you know, my laundry pile is taller than my son and therefore, I don’t really have the time. (If I work diligently, however, I hope to catch an episode of House this evening!)
by JILL JOINER
2. FREEZE THE PB&J
Nothing causes me more angst than figuring out lunches for all the kids. Who has hot lunch, who’s supposed to bring one? Which kid has to bring a snack, and how much poly-saturated fat can I get away with sending before the teacher assumes I’m a bad parent?
For some reason, if I’m standing there in the kitchen at 7 o’clock trying to make sense of it all, the problem seems at least as complex as finding peace in the middle east.
That is, until I figured out that I could freeze peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Once a month, I take a Sunday afternoon and make 6 weeks worth of PB&Js, individually wrap them, and stick them in the freezer.
If your kids don’t mind monotonous lunches, then you might also find this revolutionary. I buy four loaves of bread. (I buy the wheat bread that looks like white, but your kids might be more sophisticated than mine.) On two loaves, I slap peanut butter, and on two loaves I slap jelly. (There is debate over how to make the perfect PB&J, including a fringe group who believes peanut butter should be on both pieces of bread. If you belong to this group, please seek help immediately.) Miraculously, if you freeze the sandwiches within the hour of assembling them, they freeze easily, the jelly doesn’t seep through, and they thaw between the time you take them out of the freezer and lunch. (A simple Ziplock bag will do, and I don’t take any other precautions before putting them next to the frozen pizzas.) So far, I’ve managed to consume them all within 6 weeks, though I’d be interested to hear if any of you have success in freezing them longer.
by NANCY FRENCH
Nothing causes me more angst than figuring out lunches for all the kids. Who has hot lunch, who’s supposed to bring one? Which kid has to bring a snack, and how much poly-saturated fat can I get away with sending before the teacher assumes I’m a bad parent?
For some reason, if I’m standing there in the kitchen at 7 o’clock trying to make sense of it all, the problem seems at least as complex as finding peace in the middle east.
That is, until I figured out that I could freeze peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Once a month, I take a Sunday afternoon and make 6 weeks worth of PB&Js, individually wrap them, and stick them in the freezer.
If your kids don’t mind monotonous lunches, then you might also find this revolutionary. I buy four loaves of bread. (I buy the wheat bread that looks like white, but your kids might be more sophisticated than mine.) On two loaves, I slap peanut butter, and on two loaves I slap jelly. (There is debate over how to make the perfect PB&J, including a fringe group who believes peanut butter should be on both pieces of bread. If you belong to this group, please seek help immediately.) Miraculously, if you freeze the sandwiches within the hour of assembling them, they freeze easily, the jelly doesn’t seep through, and they thaw between the time you take them out of the freezer and lunch. (A simple Ziplock bag will do, and I don’t take any other precautions before putting them next to the frozen pizzas.) So far, I’ve managed to consume them all within 6 weeks, though I’d be interested to hear if any of you have success in freezing them longer.
by NANCY FRENCH
3. HOT, HEALTHY MEALS
Meal time is especially hard if you are balancing homework, afterschool practice, and the difficult-to-predict arrival time of your beloved spouse from work.
Thankfully for modern parents, there is a new solution for families-on-the-go who still appreciate the value of sitting down at the table together.
New businesses have popped up all over America to help families at meal time. Here in Tennessee, I have used a business called Super Suppers, which has locations nation-wide. (Not one near you? I’m sure there other other businesses that provide a similar service.)
All you do is choose from a menu, place your order, and stock your freezer with wonderful, healthy foods. Today, for example, I received Parmesan Chicken with Creamy Sage Sauce, Asian flank steak, and a wonderful veggie lasagna – all ready for me to stick in the oven, for a hot meal in one hour flat.
I started using this service when my husband was in Iraq, and I realized that Lucky Charms wasn’t technically its own food group.
Am I June Cleaver? No, but I can sure fake it better than anyone else… thanks to Super Suppers!
by NANCY FRENCH
Meal time is especially hard if you are balancing homework, afterschool practice, and the difficult-to-predict arrival time of your beloved spouse from work.
Thankfully for modern parents, there is a new solution for families-on-the-go who still appreciate the value of sitting down at the table together.
New businesses have popped up all over America to help families at meal time. Here in Tennessee, I have used a business called Super Suppers, which has locations nation-wide. (Not one near you? I’m sure there other other businesses that provide a similar service.)
All you do is choose from a menu, place your order, and stock your freezer with wonderful, healthy foods. Today, for example, I received Parmesan Chicken with Creamy Sage Sauce, Asian flank steak, and a wonderful veggie lasagna – all ready for me to stick in the oven, for a hot meal in one hour flat.
I started using this service when my husband was in Iraq, and I realized that Lucky Charms wasn’t technically its own food group.
Am I June Cleaver? No, but I can sure fake it better than anyone else… thanks to Super Suppers!
by NANCY FRENCH
4. HEALTHY SNACKS, AND LOTS OF THEM
My biggest coping mechanism for back to school is food. Not for me, for the kids. When they come home starving, tired, crabby, I sit them down and give them a hearty snack. Since they eat before 11 am, it's been a while since lunch for them. I feel like I have no control over what they eat for lunch, no matter what I pack. Somehow the sandwich always comes home nibbled and the cookies never reappear.
But after school, I can pack them full of tuna salad, fruit, milk, and an occasional cookie. Well, maybe more than occasional. My little guy calls it his "after school lunch." A hungry child is a crabby child just like a hungry mom is a crabby mom. If they don't eat as much dinner, that's ok with me. Surviving that long stretch from school bell to dinner bell is more important to me than a June Cleaver dinner experience anyway.
by REBECCA CUSEY
My biggest coping mechanism for back to school is food. Not for me, for the kids. When they come home starving, tired, crabby, I sit them down and give them a hearty snack. Since they eat before 11 am, it's been a while since lunch for them. I feel like I have no control over what they eat for lunch, no matter what I pack. Somehow the sandwich always comes home nibbled and the cookies never reappear.
But after school, I can pack them full of tuna salad, fruit, milk, and an occasional cookie. Well, maybe more than occasional. My little guy calls it his "after school lunch." A hungry child is a crabby child just like a hungry mom is a crabby mom. If they don't eat as much dinner, that's ok with me. Surviving that long stretch from school bell to dinner bell is more important to me than a June Cleaver dinner experience anyway.
by REBECCA CUSEY
5. STOCK THE ESSENTIALS
So the best thing I know when the school year approaches is to build up our backroom stock of essentials. With six people in the family scattering to five zip codes every day, and many early and late extracurriculars, there's just no room for extra quick trips during the week.
What's an essential? Anything that, when it goes missing, breaks the flow of the day. Milk, of course. Bread. Snacks and supplies for the kids' lunches. But also things for our crazy morning routine-- a 90 minute dash-- and the dinner chore routine. When the kids were tiny, it seemed fine if we were running low on dishwasher detergent, we could make do. Now it feels a lot like we're managing the supply chain for a major manufacturer--the smallest glitches can make the whole system come crashing down, with dirty dishes and sibling discord and late arrival all sure to follow.
by MARK BASNAGE
NANCY ADDS: DON'T RUN OUT BY ORDERING STAPLES ONLINE
Thanks, Mark! One way to accomplish this goal of not running out of staples is perhaps to try out Amazon's grocery service.
Their new “Subscribe and Save” delivers groceries to your door – no, not fresh fruits and veggies. Think coffee and cereal.
While you’ll still have to stop by the brick and mortar grocery on the way home, you can set up a regular order of the things you always buy. If you set it up for regular delivery, you can get 15% off your order.
"Subscribe and Save" gives you free delivery too.
This will help you if you’re the type of person who frequently find you’re plum out of flour or sugar. If you subscribe, you automatically receive a new shipment of the item in intervals you select--every one, two, three, or six months; get a discount on our everyday price; pay for each order only when the item is shipped; have the option to cancel at any time
Check out their bargains too, for extra savings.
I did all of my groceries online while we lived in Philly, and I found that it cut down on the spur-of-the-moment buys that plague me while I'm walking through the aisles and think, "I really need that plastic popcorn bowl that makes it look like it came from a movie theater!"
by NANCY FRENCH
So the best thing I know when the school year approaches is to build up our backroom stock of essentials. With six people in the family scattering to five zip codes every day, and many early and late extracurriculars, there's just no room for extra quick trips during the week.
What's an essential? Anything that, when it goes missing, breaks the flow of the day. Milk, of course. Bread. Snacks and supplies for the kids' lunches. But also things for our crazy morning routine-- a 90 minute dash-- and the dinner chore routine. When the kids were tiny, it seemed fine if we were running low on dishwasher detergent, we could make do. Now it feels a lot like we're managing the supply chain for a major manufacturer--the smallest glitches can make the whole system come crashing down, with dirty dishes and sibling discord and late arrival all sure to follow.
by MARK BASNAGE
NANCY ADDS: DON'T RUN OUT BY ORDERING STAPLES ONLINE
Thanks, Mark! One way to accomplish this goal of not running out of staples is perhaps to try out Amazon's grocery service.
Their new “Subscribe and Save” delivers groceries to your door – no, not fresh fruits and veggies. Think coffee and cereal.
While you’ll still have to stop by the brick and mortar grocery on the way home, you can set up a regular order of the things you always buy. If you set it up for regular delivery, you can get 15% off your order.
"Subscribe and Save" gives you free delivery too.
This will help you if you’re the type of person who frequently find you’re plum out of flour or sugar. If you subscribe, you automatically receive a new shipment of the item in intervals you select--every one, two, three, or six months; get a discount on our everyday price; pay for each order only when the item is shipped; have the option to cancel at any time
Check out their bargains too, for extra savings.
I did all of my groceries online while we lived in Philly, and I found that it cut down on the spur-of-the-moment buys that plague me while I'm walking through the aisles and think, "I really need that plastic popcorn bowl that makes it look like it came from a movie theater!"
by NANCY FRENCH
6. Don't Buy New Clothes Yet!
Year after year, the fresh pile of new fall clothing I'd bought for our four children would remain untouched weeks after school began. I had stood in long lines for that pile, after making my boys miserable as they tried on pair after pair of long pants in stuffy dressing rooms. Then understandably, they didn't want to wear jeans and long-sleeved shirts the first weeks of school when 70 degree weather was conducive to the same shorts and t-shirts they'd been wearing all summer.
I used to think back-to-school clothes shopping was an essential mom task before school began - but now I wait to hit the stores after school's underway, the crowds are gone and the kids actually need the warmer clothing.
by JEAN YIH KINGSTON
Year after year, the fresh pile of new fall clothing I'd bought for our four children would remain untouched weeks after school began. I had stood in long lines for that pile, after making my boys miserable as they tried on pair after pair of long pants in stuffy dressing rooms. Then understandably, they didn't want to wear jeans and long-sleeved shirts the first weeks of school when 70 degree weather was conducive to the same shorts and t-shirts they'd been wearing all summer.
I used to think back-to-school clothes shopping was an essential mom task before school began - but now I wait to hit the stores after school's underway, the crowds are gone and the kids actually need the warmer clothing.
by JEAN YIH KINGSTON
It's that time of year again. The air is not yet crisp, the weather at football games is unseasonably warm, the long-sleeved clothes available at department stores seem too forward-thinking, and everyone's a little on edge as they transition back to the excitement -- and schedule -- of school.
SixSeeds is here to help. We asked our contributors for their best advice on how to make life run more smoothly, and here are their six helpful replies!
Readers, what are your tips? Please share them below! Come on, it's Back to School time. We gotta stick together.
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1. OPTIONAL TIME
During the school year, it’s particularly hard to manage time -- we have less of it and more demands upon it. In our family, we’ve had a time called, “optional time.” This is a set time during the day (longer on weekends) during which the kids choose their activity. Their options are especially appealing and include activities to which the kids don’t have open access (television, computer, Wii, certain art projects, games with parents). Here’s the catch – the chores, homework, or practice must be complete before the agreed upon “optional time.” If those things are not complete, “optional time” transitions to “catch up time.” with a built in incentive to catch up quickly. (If you hurry, you might still have time to at least feed the Webkinz.)
Is this bribing? I hope not. It certainly feels like life. Today, I want to go to lunch with a friend. But you know, my laundry pile is taller than my son and therefore, I don’t really have the time. (If I work diligently, however, I hope to catch an episode of House this evening!)
by JILL JOINER
During the school year, it’s particularly hard to manage time -- we have less of it and more demands upon it. In our family, we’ve had a time called, “optional time.” This is a set time during the day (longer on weekends) during which the kids choose their activity. Their options are especially appealing and include activities to which the kids don’t have open access (television, computer, Wii, certain art projects, games with parents). Here’s the catch – the chores, homework, or practice must be complete before the agreed upon “optional time.” If those things are not complete, “optional time” transitions to “catch up time.” with a built in incentive to catch up quickly. (If you hurry, you might still have time to at least feed the Webkinz.)
Is this bribing? I hope not. It certainly feels like life. Today, I want to go to lunch with a friend. But you know, my laundry pile is taller than my son and therefore, I don’t really have the time. (If I work diligently, however, I hope to catch an episode of House this evening!)
by JILL JOINER
2. FREEZE THE PB&J
Nothing causes me more angst than figuring out lunches for all the kids. Who has hot lunch, who’s supposed to bring one? Which kid has to bring a snack, and how much poly-saturated fat can I get away with sending before the teacher assumes I’m a bad parent?
For some reason, if I’m standing there in the kitchen at 7 o’clock trying to make sense of it all, the problem seems at least as complex as finding peace in the middle east.
That is, until I figured out that I could freeze peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Once a month, I take a Sunday afternoon and make 6 weeks worth of PB&Js, individually wrap them, and stick them in the freezer.
If your kids don’t mind monotonous lunches, then you might also find this revolutionary. I buy four loaves of bread. (I buy the wheat bread that looks like white, but your kids might be more sophisticated than mine.) On two loaves, I slap peanut butter, and on two loaves I slap jelly. (There is debate over how to make the perfect PB&J, including a fringe group who believes peanut butter should be on both pieces of bread. If you belong to this group, please seek help immediately.) Miraculously, if you freeze the sandwiches within the hour of assembling them, they freeze easily, the jelly doesn’t seep through, and they thaw between the time you take them out of the freezer and lunch. (A simple Ziplock bag will do, and I don’t take any other precautions before putting them next to the frozen pizzas.) So far, I’ve managed to consume them all within 6 weeks, though I’d be interested to hear if any of you have success in freezing them longer.
by NANCY FRENCH
Nothing causes me more angst than figuring out lunches for all the kids. Who has hot lunch, who’s supposed to bring one? Which kid has to bring a snack, and how much poly-saturated fat can I get away with sending before the teacher assumes I’m a bad parent?
For some reason, if I’m standing there in the kitchen at 7 o’clock trying to make sense of it all, the problem seems at least as complex as finding peace in the middle east.
That is, until I figured out that I could freeze peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Once a month, I take a Sunday afternoon and make 6 weeks worth of PB&Js, individually wrap them, and stick them in the freezer.
If your kids don’t mind monotonous lunches, then you might also find this revolutionary. I buy four loaves of bread. (I buy the wheat bread that looks like white, but your kids might be more sophisticated than mine.) On two loaves, I slap peanut butter, and on two loaves I slap jelly. (There is debate over how to make the perfect PB&J, including a fringe group who believes peanut butter should be on both pieces of bread. If you belong to this group, please seek help immediately.) Miraculously, if you freeze the sandwiches within the hour of assembling them, they freeze easily, the jelly doesn’t seep through, and they thaw between the time you take them out of the freezer and lunch. (A simple Ziplock bag will do, and I don’t take any other precautions before putting them next to the frozen pizzas.) So far, I’ve managed to consume them all within 6 weeks, though I’d be interested to hear if any of you have success in freezing them longer.
by NANCY FRENCH
3. HOT, HEALTHY MEALS
Meal time is especially hard if you are balancing homework, afterschool practice, and the difficult-to-predict arrival time of your beloved spouse from work.
Thankfully for modern parents, there is a new solution for families-on-the-go who still appreciate the value of sitting down at the table together.
New businesses have popped up all over America to help families at meal time. Here in Tennessee, I have used a business called Super Suppers, which has locations nation-wide. (Not one near you? I’m sure there other other businesses that provide a similar service.)
All you do is choose from a menu, place your order, and stock your freezer with wonderful, healthy foods. Today, for example, I received Parmesan Chicken with Creamy Sage Sauce, Asian flank steak, and a wonderful veggie lasagna – all ready for me to stick in the oven, for a hot meal in one hour flat.
I started using this service when my husband was in Iraq, and I realized that Lucky Charms wasn’t technically its own food group.
Am I June Cleaver? No, but I can sure fake it better than anyone else… thanks to Super Suppers!
by NANCY FRENCH
Meal time is especially hard if you are balancing homework, afterschool practice, and the difficult-to-predict arrival time of your beloved spouse from work.
Thankfully for modern parents, there is a new solution for families-on-the-go who still appreciate the value of sitting down at the table together.
New businesses have popped up all over America to help families at meal time. Here in Tennessee, I have used a business called Super Suppers, which has locations nation-wide. (Not one near you? I’m sure there other other businesses that provide a similar service.)
All you do is choose from a menu, place your order, and stock your freezer with wonderful, healthy foods. Today, for example, I received Parmesan Chicken with Creamy Sage Sauce, Asian flank steak, and a wonderful veggie lasagna – all ready for me to stick in the oven, for a hot meal in one hour flat.
I started using this service when my husband was in Iraq, and I realized that Lucky Charms wasn’t technically its own food group.
Am I June Cleaver? No, but I can sure fake it better than anyone else… thanks to Super Suppers!
by NANCY FRENCH
4. HEALTHY SNACKS, AND LOTS OF THEM
My biggest coping mechanism for back to school is food. Not for me, for the kids. When they come home starving, tired, crabby, I sit them down and give them a hearty snack. Since they eat before 11 am, it's been a while since lunch for them. I feel like I have no control over what they eat for lunch, no matter what I pack. Somehow the sandwich always comes home nibbled and the cookies never reappear.
But after school, I can pack them full of tuna salad, fruit, milk, and an occasional cookie. Well, maybe more than occasional. My little guy calls it his "after school lunch." A hungry child is a crabby child just like a hungry mom is a crabby mom. If they don't eat as much dinner, that's ok with me. Surviving that long stretch from school bell to dinner bell is more important to me than a June Cleaver dinner experience anyway.
by REBECCA CUSEY
My biggest coping mechanism for back to school is food. Not for me, for the kids. When they come home starving, tired, crabby, I sit them down and give them a hearty snack. Since they eat before 11 am, it's been a while since lunch for them. I feel like I have no control over what they eat for lunch, no matter what I pack. Somehow the sandwich always comes home nibbled and the cookies never reappear.
But after school, I can pack them full of tuna salad, fruit, milk, and an occasional cookie. Well, maybe more than occasional. My little guy calls it his "after school lunch." A hungry child is a crabby child just like a hungry mom is a crabby mom. If they don't eat as much dinner, that's ok with me. Surviving that long stretch from school bell to dinner bell is more important to me than a June Cleaver dinner experience anyway.
by REBECCA CUSEY
5. STOCK THE ESSENTIALS
So the best thing I know when the school year approaches is to build up our backroom stock of essentials. With six people in the family scattering to five zip codes every day, and many early and late extracurriculars, there's just no room for extra quick trips during the week.
What's an essential? Anything that, when it goes missing, breaks the flow of the day. Milk, of course. Bread. Snacks and supplies for the kids' lunches. But also things for our crazy morning routine-- a 90 minute dash-- and the dinner chore routine. When the kids were tiny, it seemed fine if we were running low on dishwasher detergent, we could make do. Now it feels a lot like we're managing the supply chain for a major manufacturer--the smallest glitches can make the whole system come crashing down, with dirty dishes and sibling discord and late arrival all sure to follow.
by MARK BASNAGE
NANCY ADDS: DON'T RUN OUT BY ORDERING STAPLES ONLINE
Thanks, Mark! One way to accomplish this goal of not running out of staples is perhaps to try out Amazon's grocery service.
Their new “Subscribe and Save” delivers groceries to your door – no, not fresh fruits and veggies. Think coffee and cereal.
While you’ll still have to stop by the brick and mortar grocery on the way home, you can set up a regular order of the things you always buy. If you set it up for regular delivery, you can get 15% off your order.
"Subscribe and Save" gives you free delivery too.
This will help you if you’re the type of person who frequently find you’re plum out of flour or sugar. If you subscribe, you automatically receive a new shipment of the item in intervals you select--every one, two, three, or six months; get a discount on our everyday price; pay for each order only when the item is shipped; have the option to cancel at any time
Check out their bargains too, for extra savings.
I did all of my groceries online while we lived in Philly, and I found that it cut down on the spur-of-the-moment buys that plague me while I'm walking through the aisles and think, "I really need that plastic popcorn bowl that makes it look like it came from a movie theater!"
by NANCY FRENCH
So the best thing I know when the school year approaches is to build up our backroom stock of essentials. With six people in the family scattering to five zip codes every day, and many early and late extracurriculars, there's just no room for extra quick trips during the week.
What's an essential? Anything that, when it goes missing, breaks the flow of the day. Milk, of course. Bread. Snacks and supplies for the kids' lunches. But also things for our crazy morning routine-- a 90 minute dash-- and the dinner chore routine. When the kids were tiny, it seemed fine if we were running low on dishwasher detergent, we could make do. Now it feels a lot like we're managing the supply chain for a major manufacturer--the smallest glitches can make the whole system come crashing down, with dirty dishes and sibling discord and late arrival all sure to follow.
by MARK BASNAGE
NANCY ADDS: DON'T RUN OUT BY ORDERING STAPLES ONLINE
Thanks, Mark! One way to accomplish this goal of not running out of staples is perhaps to try out Amazon's grocery service.
Their new “Subscribe and Save” delivers groceries to your door – no, not fresh fruits and veggies. Think coffee and cereal.
While you’ll still have to stop by the brick and mortar grocery on the way home, you can set up a regular order of the things you always buy. If you set it up for regular delivery, you can get 15% off your order.
"Subscribe and Save" gives you free delivery too.
This will help you if you’re the type of person who frequently find you’re plum out of flour or sugar. If you subscribe, you automatically receive a new shipment of the item in intervals you select--every one, two, three, or six months; get a discount on our everyday price; pay for each order only when the item is shipped; have the option to cancel at any time
Check out their bargains too, for extra savings.
I did all of my groceries online while we lived in Philly, and I found that it cut down on the spur-of-the-moment buys that plague me while I'm walking through the aisles and think, "I really need that plastic popcorn bowl that makes it look like it came from a movie theater!"
by NANCY FRENCH
6. Don't Buy New Clothes Yet!
Year after year, the fresh pile of new fall clothing I'd bought for our four children would remain untouched weeks after school began. I had stood in long lines for that pile, after making my boys miserable as they tried on pair after pair of long pants in stuffy dressing rooms. Then understandably, they didn't want to wear jeans and long-sleeved shirts the first weeks of school when 70 degree weather was conducive to the same shorts and t-shirts they'd been wearing all summer.
I used to think back-to-school clothes shopping was an essential mom task before school began - but now I wait to hit the stores after school's underway, the crowds are gone and the kids actually need the warmer clothing.
by JEAN YIH KINGSTON
Year after year, the fresh pile of new fall clothing I'd bought for our four children would remain untouched weeks after school began. I had stood in long lines for that pile, after making my boys miserable as they tried on pair after pair of long pants in stuffy dressing rooms. Then understandably, they didn't want to wear jeans and long-sleeved shirts the first weeks of school when 70 degree weather was conducive to the same shorts and t-shirts they'd been wearing all summer.
I used to think back-to-school clothes shopping was an essential mom task before school began - but now I wait to hit the stores after school's underway, the crowds are gone and the kids actually need the warmer clothing.
by JEAN YIH KINGSTON