Fun Friday – Back to school

It was a typical July day - exercise, work and coffee at my favorite lunchtime writing spot. As I sat, sipping coffee and working on a writing assignment, my phone buzzed. It was a text message from my teen son that read, “I’m getting ready to go.”

“Noooo, everybody didn’t get to say goodbye. I thought you were staying one more day.” I really meant I didn’t say goodbye.

My son was driving back to college that day. I thought I had convinced him to stay one more day. I rattled off a list of reasons to stay…

·         Your living quarters were not going to be ready for another day.

·         You’ll have to inconvenience your friend’s parents by staying with them.

·         You may forget items if I’m not there when you leave.

None of these reasons shook his resolve.

“Okay,” I said. “If I get home and you’ve left stuff everywhere, I’m charging you a $50 cleaning fee.”

My son met me at my lunch spot to take a few selfies before he headed off to school.

Later, I arrived home ready to put my feet up, sit outside in the warm breeze, and sip on a smoothie made with fresh berries. Instead, I had to navigate through a living room that looked like a shoe display at Foot Locker, Famous Footwear or some other popular shoe store.

There were empty boxes and other boxes filled with shoes waiting to be moved to a new location. Putting my sleuth skills to work, it wasn’t long before I realized my son packed hurriedly.

His George Foreman Grill still sat on the kitchen counter. There was a five pound bag of rice still in the cabinet, and the bedroom held a scattering of socks, a towel and other miscellaneous items.

Once my son arrived safely at his destination he texted me and said, “I made it. I just realized I forgot to grab my clothes hangers.”

“Yes buddy, you forgot more than that. And you do owe me a $50 cleaning fee.”

My son was anxious to get back to school, not for the exciting academic year, but for football training. Everybody has something different that drives them to succeed.

Sitting in a lawn chair sipping a Strawberry Banana Smoothie on a warm July day, does not seem the time to prepare for back to school. I’m not ready to say goodbye to summer, but, for everything there is a season.

How does your child prepare for back to school?