By Susan Hunt-Bradford, Publisher
As publisher of a monthly magazine, I try to be aware of each month’s theme or topic. This gives me an opportunity to have specific articles. When I think about August, what jumps out to me is “back to school!” which can be exciting for students craving something new, teacher’s eager to get back in the classroom, and parents happy to see their children grow and learn. There’s a positive experience awaiting all.
I always looked forward to the back-to-school season. When I was little my mom would take my sister and me shopping for clothes, shoes, and school supplies at places like Sears, Woolworth’s, and Montgomery Ward. Mom made it a very special day by also taking us out to lunch. We rarely ate out, so this was a big treat. Even though that was around many decades ago, I still get happy just thinking about our special day. I took my son John back-to-school shopping every year as well, but it wasn’t quite the same. First of all, we ate out regularly, so lunch wasn’t a unique treat. Also, his school list of items was much more extravagant than any items I had to get when I was young. One year he had to buy a “special” calculator. There was no such thing when I was a kid. Also, not one Snoopy and the Peanuts Gang lunch pail in sight, and today’s lunch pails are mostly plastic. The metal ones when I was little were much cooler. At least to me. But I hope John still had fun and remembers it fondly. I was fortunate to have a career as a college professor, so every summer I would be off with my son, and we often spent days in the subdivision pool. To me those are incredibly special memories. Very similar to when I was younger, and my stay-at-home mom and I would be together all summer and have a great time.
However, I understand that returning to school can also mean end of summer fun, vacations, pool time, hanging out, etc. But it doesn’t have to. There are plenty of fun times left to celebrate in August. Here’s a list of official and unofficial special days. I picked out a few of them to help you celebrate. You can view the full list at www.calendarr.com
August 3…..National Watermelon Day
August 4…..National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day
August 5…..National Water Balloon Day
August 6…..Farm Worker Appreciation Day
August 8…..International Cat Day
August 10…Spoil Your Dog Day (we know that’s every day)
August 13….Left Handers Day
August 16….National Roller Coaster Day
August 19….National Potato Day (see my article on healthy toppings)
August 21….Senior Citizens Day
August 30….National Beach Day (check out my article about beaches near STL)
Now go have some fun!