My daughter and I were having a conversation the other night about different vacations we took as a family. We were reminiscing about a vacation we took to the beautiful Kootenay area. Her memories were very vague, until I reminded her that it was the trip she lost my purse. As a little girl, she was very headstrong and absolutely insisted that she should carry my purse. Not the greatest decision on my part, but it was a vacation and I didn't want there to be any conflict, so I gave in and let her carry it. We had a fabulous time exploring Kaslo and then..... I needed my purse. To my dismay, she had put it down somewhere in the last town we were visiting, and now the happy family was not so happy. This she remembers very clearly, she was sure she was going to be in very big trouble. But, really it was my fault for allowing a 5 year old the responsibility...

September is only a few weeks away and the world around us is preparing for the new school year. Flyers, ads on TV and radio, the stores are filled with families shopping for school supplies and clothing.

 

As a child, my grandfather was responsible for taking me out shopping for school clothes and supplies. I can remember taking the trolley bus downtown, hand in hand with my grandpa...an eventful day. Back then we only needed a small amount of school supplies, unlike the endless list they get now. I would get one pair of leather shoes from the German Shoe Store next to the Army & Navy and a pair of runners for gym class. We didn't have a big budget, but good shoes were important. I remember back to school being a magical time, excited and scared all at once. Would I get a nice teacher, would that cute boy be sitting next to me? And the most important, would my best friend...