I was out running errands for Casual Elegance Photography as I usually am on a Monday, when I drove past the elementary school and saw a post that school will start next Monday! Having grown up in the northeast, where we didn’t go back to school until after Labor Day, Mark and I still aren’t used to the fact that August means “Back to School” here. When we were kids, the arrival of August simply meant the local lake was warm enough to jump in without shivering, and we had a whole month more to enjoy it with our friends!
But in GA this weekend people were out in droves, buying “back to school” clothes and supplies. Aided by the “Sales Tax Holiday” of course. I wonder if lunch boxes are a favorite purchase anymore? In fact, do they even make fun lunchboxes these days? I haven’t seen any in my travels of the past couple of weeks, but maybe I’m not at the right stores since school supplies aren’t something we need at our house anymore. Everything that I’ve come across seems to be just an insulated box or bag – with not even much variety as to the color!
Back when we were kids the lunchbox was the purchase that mattered most! Up until the time that I entered second grade we had lived where we could walk to school, and we were dismissed at noon to go home for an hour’s lunch break. But in second grade we had moved out to the countryside – no more walking to or from school - and I needed a lunchbox! Getting that first one was such a big deal that I still remember it. It was made of metal – they all were back then! Shaped and painted like a barn. When you opened the “roof” of the barn, inside was a thermos shaped like a silo. I just loved it! Lots of my friends had boxes with pictues of TV show characters on them, but I don’t remember anyone else having a barn lunchbox. Hmmmmm….. well, to me it was the best!
Years later, as a mom, I got a kick out of our boys picking out their lunchboxes every year. It still was a very big deal – choosing just the right one. They were still made of metal at first (I think that stopped in the mid 80’s), and still had that same familiar sound when you opened and closed them. A lot of thought went into which one to choose. After all, this little piece of art they were going to tote back and forth everyday was going to say something about them to their friends! It was always fun to see all the shiny new boxes on the first day of school, and on the last day to see those same boxes – worn, dented – and in the case of some of the rougher kids, battered practically beyond recognition. The days of the plastic lunchbox eliminated some of the dents, but kids will be kids, and by the last day of school they still looked pretty battered!
I don’t know if they are still making those lunchboxes, but somehow the idea of a children’s lunchroom filled with canvas insulated bags with zippers just isn’t the same as one filled the clatter of lunchboxes that are little collectible works of pop art!
