back to school

I remember Back to School, both as a boarding school student and as a mom. When it was time to go shopping for school clothes, it was real easy. I wore uniforms; white blouse, navy jumper, saddle oxfords, white sox. And we could only get those things at Bullock's Wilshire in Los Angeles. Toward the end of our stay at our summer house in Newport Beach my mother and I would drive up to L.A. for a day of shopping. First out of the way would be any new uniforms. Then would begin the great dress hunt. I was usually allowed one new dress (mandatory get-up for nightly dinners). I refused to settle for just any old thing. It took hours of serious shopping until I found just the right thing. In between shuttling from store to store, we would have lunch in some low-noise tea room. By the third year we had this down to a science. By the summer before my junior year I had shot up by about 4 or 5 inches and needed all new uniforms; Mother was not happy. So instead of buying several, she let the hems out of the old ones. They had a distinctive lighter-colored ring around the bottom and the waist was so high it resembled an Empire-style costume. The blouse sleeves hit at my forearms. We were allowed to wear short-sleeved blouses, but only in the spring. So she cut the sleeves off and prayed for hot weather.

As a mother, I did a lot of sewing for my girls. Always a new dress or two at the beginning of the year. Girls were just starting to wear pants to school; it was still primarily dresses or skirts. We would go shopping for fabrics and patterns. Plus shoes, always the most expensive items on the list. We went to San Francisco for a day of the same sort of activities I had with my mother, including lunch at some smart spot. I remember it all with true delight.

Where is all this leading, you might well ask. I have just had my first Back to School experience as a grandmother. Emily will be going off to boarding school next month (no uniforms!) so she and I had two days of retail therapy and rash consumerism. We arrived home on Friday about 2 PM and started right in via the internet. She has to provide everything for her room; sheets, towels, any decorations including, we think, a wastepaper basket. So we got right on it, ordered what she needed, and crossed several things off the list. Saturday morning, after the Farmers' Market, it was off to buy duds for riding. There is a really good "cowboy/cowgirl" store in Woodland and we had great success. Next, to the fabric store to buy materials for a cover for one of her pillows. Then to Target for various things like hangers, shoe rack, toiletries basket, clothes hamper ~ found one that completely collapses and then pops open to hold, they say, two big loads of clothes. We also found a very smart braided area rug in colors that match her other furnishings. Then it was back home to unload, eat (no tea room for this duo) and head up to Sacramento. More success in the shape of a backpack, denim shorts, two blouses. She looked at shoes but no luck there. We surveyed our loot and decided we would make yet another foray on Sunday morning. Back up to Sacramento to Nordstrom's Rack ~ no luck for her there. We hit Urban Outfitters, a store I had never heard of but she was ecstatic at the sight of the place and scored two nice T-shirts and a very cute little (and I do mean little) skirt. By that time we were both shopped out and headed home. Fortunately she came with a fairly empty suitcase so she can take almost all of her purchases home. The rest I will box up and mail to her. I must say she is a very good shopper; careful and, for a 15-year old, remarkably modest in her choice of clothes. One of the most fun parts of doing this with her was watching other girls pawing through racks of teeny weeny dresses and skirts and squealing with delight at having come up with something "sooooo cute".

As if all this activity were not enough to keep us amused, we decided to go see "Julie and Julia" yesterday afternoon. What an absolutely delicious movie! Meryl and Stanley Tucci are definitely the engines of this film and their story is the most fun to watch; when they aren't on the screen you get antsy to have them back. The "Julie" part is sort of boring. The contrast between the genteel Childs ~ well born, well spoken, well mannered ~ and the yuppie Powells is painfully stark. The movie crowd that was "of an age" truly appreciated what Julia was all about. The 30-somethings didn't know anything about Julia but loved Julie. Em liked it all. I will see it again with Mr. C, who is currently busy getting ready to leave for Ohio tomorrow morning.

Time to get Em off to the airport for her flight home. It has been a wonderful two days. Can't wait to do it again next year. Dorothy loved it too, all that racing up and down the freeways!