FOR THE LOVE OF SCHOOL SUPPLIES BY SYNDI POWELL
In the movie of "You've Got Mail", Joe states
that he would buy Kathleen a bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils. That is my
idea of romance because I love school supplies. Pencils. Pens. Notebooks.
Folders. Paper clips and push pins. Crayons. Markers. Printer ink and reams of
paper. LOVE them. And this is the time of year that you can find these things
everywhere.
Maybe it's because I loved school growing up. Or that the
beginning of the school year felt more like a new year starting than January
1st ever has. It meant new clothes, a
new grade with a new teacher, and new opportunities for friends, learning and
fun. Above all, it meant school supplies.
There's something about opening a new box of crayons. That
first whiff of wax makes me nostalgic for a time when my worst problem was a
friend who decided to sit by someone else instead of me. Or having a bologna
sandwich for lunch instead of my favorite, tuna.
But I think the epitome of my love for school supplies is
for notebooks and journals. The sight of
a blank page. The smell of paper. The riffle it makes when you flip the pages.
LOVE. I have a whole shelf full of empty journals just waiting for their turn
to be filled with thoughts, dreams, Bible verses that touch me and prayers. I
have another shelf of ones that I've already filled with the thought of reading
them again someday. To see where I've been and how far I've come.
I do have to say that as much as I love school supplies,
I love books even more. Always have and always will. That's true love forever.
What about you? What inanimate objects to you have a love
or fondness for?
I love office supplies, which are first cousins school supplies, and I love lotions and candles because I enjoy scent but don't wear perfume. Writing my orchard book gave me a new and enduring appreciation for anything apple-related.
ReplyDeleteThe smell of freshly sharpened pencils and the thrill of opening a brand new notebook are two of the best memories I have of school. Hmmm, it's possible they're the only ones, because I hated being cooped up inside. I still love new notebooks and sharpening pencils on one of the old fashioned pencil sharpeners. Guess some things you never grow out of.
ReplyDeletePens. I'm very particular. I want only blue gel pens. And while I love spiral notebooks, I've been falling out of love with them since they all now come perforated. The pages are constantly tearing and coming loose when I want them to stay intact. This makes me sad :(
ReplyDeleteHi Syndi! I love pencils, too! I prefer writing with pencils above anything else. And they HAVE to be sharp. When my nephew first went away to college last year I sent him a box filled with school supplies like you'd buy for grade school - pencils, crayons, glue stick, ruler, etc. It was so much fun.
ReplyDeleteI love journals as well - just don't write in mine consistently. Books are practically an addiction. When I can, I get to the back-to-school sales and buy a bunch of stuff (neat stuff at bargain prices - what more can you ask?) and then put them into donation barrels in honor of the hard-working teachers.
ReplyDeleteI love that my favorite Starbucks has two barrels out for school supplies starting in August every year. If you buy one thing to put in the barrel each day until school starts, you can combine two exciting fall events, buying school supplies and pumpkin spice coffee.
ReplyDeleteI love them, too. Pencils, note pads, folders, paper clips. My other fondness is for boxes. Everything from tiny pill boxes to jewelry boxes to steamer trunks. Maybe because a box is a mystery, holding some unknown thing inside. My favorite version is the library card catalog, an oak cabinet made up of tiny drawers (boxes) with the codes to find treasures.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you, from the crayons to the pencils, all of it, Syndi. There's just something about those fresh school supplies and books. I have to admit it hurts thinking of my grade school teacher-son and his colleagues pulling out their own cash to buy them. Yay for the donations barrels!
ReplyDeleteI have a couple of those big barrel pens with multi-colored inks you click on--a kind of all-in-one pen. I thought they were so cool when I was a kid and still do!
ReplyDeleteThe prospect of new school supplies always eases the pangs of starting a new school year. Then as a teacher, I still loved buying them for myself, my own children and sometimes, my students. Thanks for this nostalgic trip, Syndi!
ReplyDelete