I can’t believe this, it’s too early!

I was in the grocery store today and in the middle of the store where all the holiday stuff usually is, was Back to School shit! They just got out of school like 3 weeks ago and now I have to start thinking about all the expenses and drama that come with all 3 kids going back to school.

The first thing that went through my mind was I just spent 400$ from our tax return (maybe more) on summer clothes and bathing suits. School clothes are always more because as I said in the past, I was able to financially afford the name brand clothes my kids wanted. I feel bad making my kids have to compromise on the stuff they like because I can’t afford it now. should I feel bad? I mean my kids have had to cut back on a lot and have been so good about it they don’t ask for extras they know we are on food stamps because I don’t hide anything from them. This is when I start to feel like I have failed my family, I am not able to give them everything they want and have to tell them NO often and it kills me. I will be working three jobs all summer in hopes to have the money for school cloths, since I applied for the clothing voucher from the state for the kids and was denied because my husband make 13 dollars more than the state allows, but I am eligible for food stamps and Medicare what makes clothes any different. This is why that big bus saying back to school in the middle of the store today gave me crazy anxiety.

The next part of back-to-school stress comes from buying school supplies. I always wait till the last minute and go to Walmart just to find out that everyone else did as well. You can’t get through the three rows in the front of the store where they stuffed all the supplies. Last year I had everything I needed and when I turned my back to my buggy for just a minute someone took all our pencils and folders the kids picked for themselves. It is cut throat at Walmart during this time it’s as bad if not worse than Black Friday! Now let’s talk about the price of these supplies. Every year to buy ALL the school supplies (which I don’t think I need all of this shit) they tell you that your child is going to need to succeed this school year will cost me over 300 dollars. To me this is insane, how is any parent supposed to afford this when we have to pay 6$ for a gallon of milk now. I don’t think I should have to buy paper towels and Clorox wipes, that should be provided by the school (not the teacher). To give some credit where credit is due, several teachers have tried to condense their supply lists but then they add at the bottom the list: If you are able to provide these items it would be a big help. So now if you don’t you feel like the loser parent that can’t afford school supplies for their kids. This year I found out that all their supplies are taken from them and put into tubs where everyone has to share, this is a problem for me because we are trying to keep our children from getting COVID and we are sending individual packs of supplies so that our children can use theirs and come to find out they are all sticking their hands in the same container all day, sharing their germs with everyone.

To finish this rant of mine tonight I would like to point out that we just had 4th of July. The summer has justed for most of kids and the fact that they are already pushing school supplies just seems to make it feel like the summer is being rushed. Summer for me as a kid was 3 months of freedom. I buckled down all school year and did everything my parents told me to do such as clubs and sports. Now that summer was here it was time to relax and be me. Why are we trying to rush summer for our kids? Well I for one am not going to have it, I again will procrastinate till the last minute and fight throught the aisles of pushy mothers and people stealing my supplies just to make sure my kids get a full summer! I think it is just as much for me as it is for the kids though because when school starts its over for sleeping in on my days off!