Parents raid bank for back-to-school shopping

Editor's note: This column was originally published Aug. 20, 2000. A new column will appear next week.

It's back to school time, a time when parents' hectic summers give way to hectic school years.

Parents save up all year for this occasion. You have to save some money, otherwise you can't afford all that back-to-school stuff.

No wonder the economy is chugging along. Parents are propping it up with all that money being spent on everything from school clothes to backpacks.

For kids, the start of a new school year requires a new wardrobe. I'm convinced that the school year is designed around the physical growth pattern of children.

No sooner do they outgrow their clothes than it's time to go back to school. Of course, you can't send your youngsters back to school in wading boots.

There's also a ton of school supplies to stock up on as well as new shoes, a new backpack the size of Rhode Island and everything else that could possibly fit inside.

Our oldest daughter, Becca, is entering the third grade. Naturally, she couldn't enter such an important grade without a new desk for her bedroom.

We went to one of those all-night stores to buy the desk, a do-it-yourself project the size of Alaska.

We managed to cram the box into our van with the help of two store employees who appeared used to cramming gigantic desk kits into cars.

Once home, Joni and I discovered the box was dead weight. We might as well have been moving an elephant. Actually, an elephant might have been easier. At least the elephant has legs.

Joni and I tugged and pulled on the box. Through hard work, we managed to wrestle the box into the garage before collapsing from exhaustion.

Putting together the particle-board desk was going to be a major chore. We decided to wait a day.

The next day was Saturday. I had to work, giving me a free pass out of the do-it-yourself workshop.

Joni spent a whole day putting together the desk. "Of course, the kids were helping too. So that went a little bit slower," Joni said when I called home to check on the progress of The Project.

There are advantages to having to work on Saturday. Getting out of the big back-to-school project clearly is one of them.

The desk, which would be a public works project in many Third World nations, is so big that Joni had to rearrange Becca's other furniture to accommodate it.

Becca's former desk is now firmly in place in Bailey's room. Our youngest daughter is thrilled to have a pre-owned desk. Joni was just thrilled she didn't have to put that one together, too.

At age 4, Bailey is still a year away from starting kindergarten. But we still end up buying her stuff, too. After all, you can't stock up on supplies for one kid without doing so for the other.

It's all part of the start of a new school year, a time when parents hope for bigger bank accounts or at least a two-for-one sale.

Once stocked up with supplies, you're ready for the school year. Just don't forget a new alarm clock so you don't oversleep on the first day of school.

After all, it takes time to get all that stuff into a backpack.

Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.