School Supplies

When I was a kid, I was always excited to see the school year start up again.  All things seemed possible when you get to begin all over again.  I was going to get straight A’s.  I’d never procrastinate homework.  I’d take superb class notes.  (Perhaps one of the things that distinguishes childhood is that for a while there you really believe that reinventing yourself is as easy as wishing it were so). 

And to go with the new me, there was also the thrill of new clothes and, even better, new school supplies.  Sleek yellow pencils, unused erasers, the pristine possibilities of a brand new notebook.  Ahhhh! 

I admit.  I’ve gotten jaded with the years.  The fact that Fall semester begins in a week is not making my heart go pitter patter.  But I still like the sense of a new beginning.  Resolutions still sprout like mushrooms (“I will get through my grading faster” wins for perennial favorite).  I always try to wear something new on the first day of classes.  And I always get  new school supplies.

(There are some people who think that Victoria’s Secret is where you go to buy sexy accessories.  Others think you go to Office Max.  No doubts here as to which camp I’m in.  The desk gadgets’ aisle is hot!)

So, here’s the first of the new school supplies: a new tote bag.

Me, the sewing machine, and the fabric had some disagreements over that button hole.  I won with sheer bull headedness and a refusal to be cowed into Velcro.  So I say, “Yeah, me!”  Sometimes you just have to take your victories where you find them. 

I lost a couple of days to trying to make an Ipod case.  I went through three prototypes to no avail.  Right now I’m licking my wounds and trying to decide whether the greater path of wisdom is just to go to Best Buy and buy one.  (Because, you know, easy.)

But mostly this last week I slid into reading mode.  I love my sewing room (of course) and besides being a place I just love to spend time, it’s also where I go to regroup.  If I’m anxious or spinning my wheels worrying about this or the other, the satisfaction of making something helps me regain my balance. 

But there are times when I seem to need a deep well refreshing, and then, it’s all about story.  I immerse myself in books.  Which is what I’ve done for the better part of the last week.  What a luxury – spending anywhere from eight to twelve hours a day off on some fantastic adventure or other.  

So, just what have I done this last week when I haven’t been quilting and haven’t been blogging?  I’ve solved a mystery in Victorian London, learned my true heritage, saved the world, danced in full ballroom dress, engaged in particularly witty repartee, and hiked through deep dark woods.  I’ve fallen in love several times and lived happily ever after. 

It’s one of life’s mysteries – how one of the best ways to clear my head and come back to me is to spend hours and hours living in the heads and lives of entirely fictional not me’s. 

Meanwhile, I think I’ve got enough stamina for one more attempt at “the-Ipod-case-that-fills-all-my-needs,” and don’t you think a pretty sleeve for the laptop is in order?