I’m outside Target. I’m holding the list. I’m freaking screwed if "plastic-coated pocket folders (blue, yellow, red, green)" are not inside this store. I swallow hard and walk in, where I’m confronted by gut-tightening fear: aisle after aisle of picked over school supplies.
Note to self: Don’t wait until the week school starts to buy what’s on the "the list."
Since my eldest daughter is only going into the first grade, I’m not totally up to speed on the intricacies of elementary school life. But I’m learning fast about school supplies.
Each August, the school sends a packet of information, including a list of "recommended" school supplies. It’s not a casual request for markers and glue. It’s a carefully-scripted marching order: "three ring binder with 1-inch rings," No. 2 pencils, sharpened," etc...
When they say "recommended" they mean "required, or your child will be branded for the rest of her life as the kid who didn’t bring school supplies to first grade." They’re also saying "It’s the parents’ responsibility to stock the supply closet."
School supplies are a $17.6 billion a year industry, according to the National Retail Federation. Last year it was $13.4 billion. It’s estimated families will spend $527 this year on school supplies. That’s a lot of glue sticks.
So I’m in Target, panic setting in. I manage to find everything, except sticky notes and 3x5 notebooks. I’ts a good thing the office supply closet at the Register is full.