It’s the fifth of July, and stores are clearing the shelves of sunscreen, pool floats, and swimsuits for back-to-school items. I mean, really? Can’t we enjoy the 90-degree weather and mosquitos for a least another month before we have to think about taking out a loan for school supplies?

Now, I do like back-to-school activities once the weather cools to a crisp 75 degrees. There’s the anticipation for the coming Autumn and all that it entails: football games, Halloween, festivals, and yes, a break from summer camps and complaints of boredom. Although my daughters are grown, I still like the idea of buying new boxes of crayons, notebook paper, and index cards. I, however, do not miss the mad scramble for the oddball items on the teachers’ supply requests. No store within 50 miles will have what is needed, and your child will die, absolutely die, if they show up at school without the requested 149 items. 

Before you get huffy about me griping about the supply list, I do understand how teachers, especially elementary age, have to reach into their wallets to buy ridiculous things like tissue paper, hand sanitizer, and migraine medication. Oh, wait, the meds are for the teachers, not the students. Several family members of mine are in the noble profession, and I was once a room mother, so I saw firsthand the sheer number of students with runny noses who consistently lost their workbooks, pens, and paper, you name it. Somebody has to pay for all that stuff. Can you imagine the school administration explaining going over budget for pencil erasers?

What’s the solution to the school supply problem? I don’t have the answer, but I’m pleased to see the community stepping up. Churches and other institutions donate backpacks; parents buy extras for the classroom, local stores hold great sales, and some states offer tax-free shopping days. My advice is to remember that in a few short months, the tissue stash will be depleted, pencils broken into nubs, and the remaining hand sanitizer spilled onto the floor. That’s when the school supplies are needed again; although in Spring, we’ll be buying sunscreen, pool floats, and swimsuits.