TWC: School Daze

Being a life-long learner and lover of knowledge, it always amazes me the way people approach the opening of school. The days grow hot, the cicadas sing in the trees, ads for school clothes start turning up, and everything goes retrograde in squares.

In Texas, we've decided to give parents a "break" one weekend a year, so during that weekend, which is generally a week before school opens, the state stops collecting sales tax on clothing for two days. For most Texans, that's a savings of 8-1/4%, but it "comes dear," as my  grandma would say. I think it's a government plot to "break" parents.

We have this savings extravaganza during the hottest days of the summer. If you've ever parked at the far edge of the mall parking lot on a 100-degree day, you'll know that concrete and asphalt may reflect UV light at different rates, but they reflect heat, and may actually amplify it. On tax-free weekend, everyone parks at the far edge of the lot, because it's the only parking there is. 

The stores are thronged. The merchandise comes to resemble fire-sale rejects, and tempers begin to flare from too much heat, too many lines, and not enough air conditioning. After a few hours, shoppers begin to look dazed themselves.

Some of us simply avoid the chaos. What's 8% compared to the misery involved? I told my children several years ago that my time was worth considerably more than the savings, and any shopping we do comes before tax-free weekend. Some things money can't buy. My sanity is one of them.

Being married to one college student and the parent of another also gives me a different perspective on the opening of school. My husband goes into full-on panic mode about getting his books, parking permit, assuring his fees are paid, etc. Our daughter, on the other hand,  simply takes a deep breath and dives in. Hubby continues the dire straits routine until the end of the second week, after which it resurfaces only during test weeks, while daughter never tweaks. She simply curtails her social life and goes to class.   

 I, as the only non-student in the crowd, tend to look forward to those first peaceful days of school, until, of course, the classes I teach begin. . .