The good old days at school

Hi neighbors. Now is the time to really appreciate the free days we still have till school starts again. It won't be much longer before weekends will again be the only time to plan for family outings.

School will start soon and the daily routines for all family members will again revolve around that activity. Planning, shopping and scheduling seem to become a full time job for the family secretary. In most families, this job description falls on Mom.

Keeping a weekly or monthly calendar posted in the kitchen is a way a lot of families cope with the chaos of keeping up with family schedules.

Once school is in full swing, there are many after school events as well as attending classes during the day and doing homework at night.

If you are a parent you probably don't feel you have the time, much less the oxygen, to just sit down and think. But to put yourself into your children's shoes might be helpful to keep you sane while you carpool.

In thinking back to "the old days" I first recall my young mother years with a first grader and a high school sophomore to contend with.

The first problem was to remember the lunch money and if that was paid weekly, there was the daily milk money change to come up with. Milk money was always a challenge. It was a small amount daily, but had to be the correct amount. Then there was the problem of getting your child to remember where they put it once they got to school.

My son was the better of the two at making frantic phone calls mid-morning. "Mom! You have to come to school right now! I forgot my lunch money again and I've used up all my charges! I'm hungry, Mom! Bring me some lunch in the next 15 minutes so I'll have time to eat!" And, yes, these were all exclamations.

So there was nothing for it but to go buy a lunch at a take out, run it to the school office and hope my son got it before he fainted from starvation. Of course, while at the office I paid off his charges and paid his lunch forward for at least two weeks. The next call would be expected three weeks later.

With my daughter in high school, things were not about food. She always had money in her pocket, at least enough for a salad each day. Her calls from school always started with "I'm sorry, Mom, I forgot to tell you..."

She was in high school in the '80s and things were not always available at 8 a.m.

"I'm sorry, Mom, but I forgot to tell you I need a long-sleeved white blouse for choir pictures today -- in an hour!"

Of course, she had no white blouse in her closet since she forgot to give me the list of things she might need for school events. So, quick run to whatever store was open to find a white blouse. Luckily, I found a man's dress shirt in her size and located her father's cuff links. Off to school, just in time to get the picture taken.

I didn't feel too badly about it as I saw several other mothers running into the office with various articles of clothing, uniforms, etc., for school picture day.

I don't remember my own school experiences being quite so traumatic -- of course I was on the student side of the equation instead of the parents. When I went to high school, the teachers and school board had set some more readily doable rules. All non-sport club pictures would feature white tops and black pants or skirts. Looked a little tedious maybe; but school pictures and yearbook pictures were all black and white anyway.

While students get by now with bleached and torn jeans and T-shirts; we had a strict dress code. All females in the school had to wear skirts or dresses. These had to be the length that if you knelt to your knees, the skirt him would touch the floor. Blouses had to be modest.

Boys weren't any better off. Jeans were allowed (after the 1950s) but had to have a crease in front like dress slacks. They had to be "jeans blue" with no tears. Cuffs were allowed. Boys had to wear pressed shirts with short or long sleeves, but not sleeveless.

In the 1950s tennis shoes were only worn during physical education, basketball practice, or track. As I remember, only the high-top tennis shoes existed.

Until the next time, remember, if your kids start complaining about school, tell them about the good old days!