This will be my very first year of approaching mid-August and not going back to school. Although it is an unusual year of COVID craziness, it still comes with a huge pile of sentiment. It really isn’t the kids I will miss so much – at least not initially – it will be all of the preparations for that first day. I will miss that special trip to the mall for that one back-to-school outfit that I really don’t need but have always gotten since sixth grade. I will miss the haircut timed perfectly for the week before school and all of my little lunch supplies. The lunch box hasn’t been there for awhile , but I always liked buying the miniatures of things to be at the ready. BUT most of all I will miss my Duckwall’s afternoon.
Duckwalls was a version of Target – but this was in the 1960’s and in a very small town on the plains of Colorado. The entire contents of this store would fit in one aisle of Target. On that special day, I was give a twenty dollar bill and told I could walk down to Duckwalls and buy all of the school supplies I needed for the year and some small treat to take home. But it was ALL a treat for me. I loved – and still do – love erasers, pens, lined punched paper, pencil pouches, school glue, crayons (as big a box the budget would allow), safety scissors (okay, not these stupid useless scissors so much), binders and notebooks (although I always avoided the trendy cartoon/toy design of the year – opting for a more professional look) I miss the smells and the joy of that twenty dollar afternoon. Never has twenty bucks made me so happy.
So, perhaps I will drive myself to Target tonight, avoiding the hand sanitizer and trendy face masks and just stand in middle of the school supplies and breath. The only last thing that I am sure not to find is that pack of candy cigarettes that always tasted good on the way home.