No Shopping For Me

Let's all be honest.  The best thing about teaching is having the summer off.  Yeah, yeah I know..."making a difference in the life of a child" is right up there in the top three, but if I'm being completely honest it is ranked number three.

I love having the summer off to recharge, reenergize and just frolic in the goodness of sandy toes, ice cream and the lack of responsibility.

What ranks in the #2 spot you ask?  Why shopping for back to school clothes of course.

In addition to the perfect newness of unopened boxes of Crayolas and unsharpened pencils comes the optimism of a new school year wardrobe.   Each August I envision myself made over with smart new clothes, a stylish haircut, perfectly manicured fingers and make-up.  I make resolutions about my new put together appearance and hit the mall in search of some designer duds to help fulfill my new role as "teacher fashionista."

I have a favorite shopping buddy who comes to visit and we help each other validate our purchases.  One "First Day Eve" I pick out my outfit and lay it out for the morning with great excitement.  I look good.  I feel good.  It's a new me.  

Then a few weeks go by.  The clothes start to get spots of tempura paint and marker from the overhead on them and my hair finds itself in a ponytail for practical reasons.  Still the back to school shopping is fun.

This year I'm excluded from the fun.

I'm hoping to make it to the first week of school, but have a scheduled C-section planned for the following Monday.  My back to school wardrobe consists not of a stylish fall wardrobe, but anything that is capable of keeping my twin baby belly and the rest of my important parts hidden from the world.  I debated going with a Greek theme this year so that I could validate wearing a toga to school.

My back to school shopping will come in December when my maternity leave ends.  Surely I will need  a makeover more than ever by then.