Wednesday Writer's Spotlight: Back to School

 Summer is almost over. That means that it is back to school time. While some parents are excited about the kids going back to school, we wanted to ask our Inkspell Authors about their back to school memories.  What was your favorite memory of back to school time? Did you love going back to school or were you always dragging your feet? We hope you enjoy hearing from our authors about their favorite back to school memories.

Little T. Michelle around age 5

T. Michelle's Senior Pic

T. Michelle Nelson: 
My favorite memory of back to school was the shopping. Going out with my mom and getting new back-to-school outfits and accessories was always a fun event.  As for the school part, not so much.  I always made pretty good grades, but I was never enthused about the project.  Any time I could skip I did, even as a young girl I'd fake sick so my grandmother would come pick me up.  The school started catching on to all my "illnesses" so I had to get creative.  I'd tell my teacher I needed to throw up, and of course, no teacher wants a kid to blow chunks in the floor, so they'd always let me go to the restroom.  I'd make a pitstop on the way by the water fountain and fill my mouth absolutely full of water, then I'd go hide in a bathroom stall and wait.  After a few minutes, the teacher would always send another student to come check on me, and when they would, I'd spit all the water out of my mouth to make the splashing sound in the toilet and make wretching noises like I was getting sick.  Never failed, the kid who was supposed to be checking on me would run back to the room and tell the teacher I was sick and shortly thereafter I was picked up.  So to answer your question, not so much, I didn't really love to go back to school!

Deb Peterson:
As I recall, I returned to school kicking and screaming... Well maybe it wasn’t quite that bad. But as a child, we filled the lazy days of summer with countless adventures. We ran barefoot through grassy fields and ripening fruit orchards while acting out numerous stories inspired by fairytales and romantic movies. Irrigation canals served as impromptu swimming pools (you should have seen the look on my mom’s face, when as adults, we told her about that). There were horses to ride, library books to read, and places to explore. We had picnics in the canyon where we would chill our soda and watermelon in the river while hotdogs and hamburgers simmered on the grill. And how many times did we lie on our backs, look up at a cloudy sky, and find pictures?

Still, I guess a set of brand new color crayons, pencils, and books, reuniting with friends we hadn’t seen all summer, compensated a bit for having to return to school. And after all, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas were just around the corner... right?

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Rebecca Hart:
I was never a lover of the back to school time of year. Which is strange, considering my birthday is right smack at the beginning of September. While I always looked forward to the start of a new year, getting back into the sports I loved and seeing old friends, back to school always meant back to school shopping. ICK!
 
My mom would pack my sister and I in the car and head off to the mall for school clothes. We would spend hours picking out and trying on piles of outfits. Sounds fun, right? So what was the issue?
 
Well, my mother didn't own or believe in owning any credit cards. They were evil and she had decided at one point to live her life in cash, and not buckle to the pressure or expense of having credit cards. She was a check writer. No biggie, really, expect back then, many of the major "cool" clothing stores wouldnt take a check without a credit card. It didn't matter how much photo ID my mom had, how many check cashing cards, they wouldnt honor a check without presenting a major credit card.
 
Imagine two teenage girls behind a massive pile of clothing at the counter, cringing while mom argued with the cashier about how if she had a credit card, she would just charge the clothing. Despite my mother's protests, the cashier always said the same thing. "Sorry, that is store policy. I wish I could help you." This line would be followed by my mother storming from the store while the purchases we had planned to make and the clothes we had spent hours shopping for, left on the front counter for the poor cashier to return to the shelves. For someone in their younger teen years -- this was the pinnacle of all embarrassments, and completely scarring for my sister and I.
 
Suffice to say, from that year on, we ALWAYS checked with the sales lady to see if they would take a check without a credit card before even looking at the store stock to save ourselves further embarrassment.

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Sasha Summers:
I loved elementary school – the smell of crayons was second only to fresh-baked cookies. I relished new lunch boxes (or hand-me-downs from my sisters). I especially loved my Kindergarten teacher and my school. I remember being a glitter addict. My art was the best in the class. We were stationed in Holland at the time, my Dad was in the Air Force, and it was so great being with other English speaking kids. Yes, I did speak Dutch (I don’t remember a word of it now, sadly) – but not very well.

I still love the smell of crayons and encourage the use of glitter whenever one of my brood has a project. They, however, have lots more restraint that I do!

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Lisa Voisin:
For me, back to school was always exciting. Autumn was my favorite time of year. I loved the changing leaves, the cooler days, and especially the fall fashion. Getting new clothes and school supplies made it feel like a new beginning, where anything was possible.  

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Aren't those some great stories? We loved the photos most of all! Share with us your own back to school memories...could be of your own or maybe a memory of your children's first day back at school. We'd enjoy hearing from you!