That time of year

BACK TO SCHOOL

Who's ready? 

I started to get nostalgic for those long forgotten days 

of back-to-school...

I know as a Mom I am happy to be getting everything ready for the school days ahead. Lunchbox. CHECK. Backpack. CHECK. School outfits and shoes. CHECK. Mind set of getting back into a schedule!? OK...CHECK. 

I also think back to the family traditions that we had as our hearts started thumping just thinking of the first day back to the bus stop. My Mom was a "totally prepared" kind of gal. So to make sure we headed back in style she would throw us into the back of the station wagon and head to the store for supplies. Each year we would gleefully rummage through the bins to find the best and most spectacular book bags, pencils, markers, notebook paper, Everything! And I loved the smell of new fresh notebook paper and markers were ALWAYS my favorite. I would sit and organize them by color over and over again. And Mom always made us feel special to get us that special "item" we wanted. And every year Mom would help us pick out a new sparkling outfit or two to wear. She made sure we didn't wear it before the first day of school (a rule sometimes we had fun deciding to break together). snicker! 

I hope my daughter loves back-to-school as much as I do. For now, she's in pre-K so the effect is a bit lost. But as we build our own traditions and talk about heading back to school this week I cannot help but think of special ways to make her love this season  as much as I did. 

What family rituals can you remember? Please share!