My oldest daughter, a soon-to-be sixth-grader, let out an excited little gasp when she looked at her list of required supplies for the upcoming school year.
“Compass and protractor set!”
My STEM-loving scholar’s heart was set aflutter, while mine stopped for a wee bit.
School supplies are among those subtle reminders — like the need for bigger shoes or a car-seat upgrade — that your young ones aren’t so young anymore. I still remember her kindergarten supply list and how she felt that same excitement for a 24-count box of crayons. (Crayola brand recommended and each one labeled, of course.)
Where has the time gone?
This school year brings several mini-milestones for my three daughters. My oldest starts her first year of middle school. My middle heads into her last year of elementary school. And my baby — who isn’t actually a baby anymore but will be my baby forever, you know, mommies? — starts kindergarten.
As I shopped for their supplies and compared their lists, I was reminded of how quickly they’re all growing up and how my oldest just keeps getting older. My elementary schoolers need the usual colored markers and glue sticks, while my middle-schooler needs items like graph paper and index cards.
But even my middle child, who starts fifth grade tomorrow, heads into new territory with the need for two three-ring binders with 2-inch spines. (Two-inch spines? That’s a lot of paperwork for my little girl … who I guess isn’t really little.)
Same thing with buying new backpacks for the school year. That’s another one of those sneaky instances that make you realize what you’re not ready to realize.
“What about a Shopkins backpack?” I asked my kindergartner as I showed her an adorable pink bag, hoping she’d like it. “Minnie Mouse? You don’t like this ‘Paw Patrol’ one? You used to like ‘Paw Patrol.’”
My kindergartner shook her head at all of my suggestions, which were way too preschool for her. She settled for a gray bag with patches of a star, lipstick and trendy unicorn. And my older girls have long since graduated from Disney princess bags to more mature styles of the tween set.
But to me, nothing quite says childhood is slipping away like a school-supply list that shows your kids have moved on from blunt-tip scissors to pointed ones, from broad-point markers to fine-point, from wide-ruled folder paper to college-ruled. (Oh my, I can’t even handle the word “college” right now.)
Soon enough my firstborn will be squealing with delight when her supply list includes a graphing calculator.
For now it’s the compass and protractor set that’s making her happy, and I’m happy with that, too.
“She Speaks” is a column by women writers of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Reach Zenaida Serrano at zserrano@staradvertiser.com.
