Memories...

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 be in my class?

But as a mom, with2 kids, shopping for school supplies and clothing was stressful. The budget was tight, and peer pressure to have the cool jeans and new skate shoes was hard to deal with. Shopping was not my favorite activity and still isn't, I was tired and overwhelmed at the best of time, mostly of my own doing.

I look back at those times and it reminds me how important it is to live in the moment. We will never get back the excitement of those first few days of school and those special moments with our children.

I do miss those days, and I hope I didn't do too much damage, by being grumpy and tired. I would sometimes wish my kids would be all grown and up and gone and I wouldn't have to deal with back to school and registrations for sports and dancing. And then when they were out of school and finished with their activities (which happened in an instant) I wanted it all back. Funny how life works...

Live for Today, Plan for Tomorrow, and Learn From Yesterday.

Fabulously yours,
Dianna Bowes
Founder of Fabulous@50