Back To School Shopping

     Page Two Hundred Seventy-Seven
     I've mentioned back to school shopping before, but please humor me here. This is a very pleasant memory. If I re-write the same blog once a year, that's okay.
     During the 1990's and 2000's, there were about 5, 6 or 7 summers when I went down to North Carolina to visit my oldest sister and her children. The kids have always responded very well to me and my sister and brother-in-law knew it. So, every year I received the job of taking the kids for their back to school shopping. It wasn't dull.
     Heather, the oldest, was and is a fashionista. With her, it was more about reigning in the spending. We liked a lot of the same things so there was little arguing. She knew exactly what she wanted. I was just along to hang out and gossip with. Now that she's a financial analyst, she doesn't have to reign in the spending as much. (I knew I'd arrived when she invited me to join her and some friends to get coffee and bagels in the morning on the first day of her high school senior year. What an honor that was... my God! In uncledom that's the equivalent of an Oscar.)
     Michael, the middle one, was pure boy. He was rough and tumble and one of the few shopping mistakes I ever made with the kids was the day I allowed him to purchase a cold water only, slightly fancy, ramie shirt. If it had been a touch less fancy and even $10.00 cheaper, I think his mom and dad wouldn't have made us return it. Oh well. (Honestly though, I still wouldn't completely trust him with that shirt, even if today he is a nuclear engineer and the world's coolest person.) 
     Jonathon, the youngest and most sensitive, simply hated wearing clothing. Covering his God-given body was an affront to him. If not for the fact that he's an environmental engineer today, he'd probably live in a nudest colony. As it is, he took 3 sabbaticals from college to go surfing by himself, once to Indonesia and twice to Nicaragua. His friends tease him that one of the reasons he took those trips is so he could live naked on the beach. Imagine trying to buy clothing for a child like that. (Nobody in my family reads my blog. So I'll admit that in my Last Will and Testament, which might come to be needed in about 2050 or so, I request Jonathon to be in charge of my funeral. Of my 14 nieces and nephews I think his sensitivity is closest to mine. I'm the youngest in my family, too. )
     But, of course, it was never really about the clothing; it was about spending time with them. All those trips to the mall are wonderful memories. Even breaking up the incessant fighting between Michael and Jonathon are great memories. (All three are best friends today.)
     Very busy parents rarely want to hear my opinions, but here's one anyhow: Savor the back to school shopping. You'll miss it in 20 years. I promise.

Back To School Shopping

     Twenty-Seven.
     Two of my four sibling are sisters, one in Cleveland, the other in North Carolina. This blog takes place in N.C.
     She has three royal offspring: eldest is a princess, then two princes. Every year for perhaps half a dozen I went down for a summertime excursion. My first visit, in '95(?), saw me being received by a Princess who must have been around ten, The Crown Prince of eight and the Younger Prince who would have been maybe six or so. The kids and I were very comfortable with each other as we lived a mile apart 'till they moved down South in 93. There were numerous visits at other times of year as well, but these summertime excursions took on a specific tone over time.
      That first year Sis convinced me what a joy it would be to take them Back To School shopping. Have you ever taken three young kids to the mall all at the same time? If you have, we speak the same language. If you haven't, oh, it's a joy!!! Thankfully, the kids and I just loved each other (still do), so their behavior wasn't as horrid as it could've been. But still, it was rough.
     For some reason though, my sister liked the idea so much that every summer itinerary thereafter included my taking them clothing shopping.
     Over time, a few patterns emerged: concerning the Princess - Of all my nieces and nephews she's the style maven. She inherited my interest in fashion and design. Thankfully, her current career in finance is well paying. The Crown Prince - if it was ever clean, he'll wear it. If he has a date with a young lady, perhaps he'll tuck his shirt in. He's in school to become a nuclear engineer; engineers are known for their jeans. The younger Prince - he hates clothing. He hated it then and he still hates it. If he could spend all day in the buff, he would. He was the most difficult to shop with 'cause he was simply offended by the whole concept of clothing. A few times he's left Western civilization to go surfing; when you're surfing by yourself in Indonesia or Nicaragua you don't wear clothing. He's also in engineering school, so he'll be stuck in jeans too. Pity.
     I do believe though, that bonding at the mall can be very fun. We really did have a blast. When developing a relationship with a kid, you simply have got to go to them. If you wait for the kid to meet you halfway, the relationship won't ever exist. Back To School shopping is a perfect excuse to hang out with your kids.