Back to School

I picked up Sarah from school yesterday after her first day back from a nice, long Christmas vacation.

I remember how it was back then. The first day back was always a day of comparisons, show-and-tell, bragging, and catching up. For the guys, it's always something like, "What did you get? Cool!" as they told of gadgets or toys they more often than not, were not able to have at school for one reason or another. For girls though, it's a totally different thing. It's like a fashion show.

Evidently, this year's hot item was the jacket that I bought for Sarah. Yes, the one that I had so much trouble getting, and then finally ended up with two of. It seems that, at least at her high school, the Denali jacket from The North Face was the item all the girls wanted. Funny thing--She was the only one that got one. If she was the bragging sort I wouldn't be happy for her, but she's a humble girl. I was very happy with the fact that she got to have some time in the limelight. A single child is always going to be wishing, hoping, and trying to fit in, without having the benefit of an elder sibling to help out with things. I figure if I aided her in one little bit of the teen awkwardness stage, we both gained. I'm happy for her!

I remember how her eyes lit up once when we were shopping--Just she and I. I think she was about 5 or 6 years old. We were in a mall store looking at winter coats for her, and she spied this black one. You could see it in her eyes. When she tried it on she looked like a total angel. It was black soft fabric with a full hood, and had white faux fur around the hood opening. It also had embroidered snowflakes done lightly in white stitching in a small line across the front, just below shoulder level. When she put it on, her face showed it. It was a total match. She was that coat. When I bought it for her, her mother was less than happy--After all, it wasn't a cheap coat. But let me tell you, she loved that coat for the few years she was able to fit into it. She treasured that thing so much. There was no chance of it not ever being taken care of.

History repeats itself.