The same thing happened every August when I was a kid. For the first two weeks, it was still summer. It was the pool, the beach, baseball, and camping.
However, around August 15th, parents started talking about school shopping.
It's your mom who makes you put on your jeans, walks out of the changing room, stands there, gets down on her knees and tugs at your hips to see how much room there is.
It was an eerie sign that summer was coming to an end and a reminder that school was approaching. Horrible school. A school I hate. My mom and dad talked it over and decided on a date sometime in the next few weeks. When we woke up, our parents reminded us to eat a delicious breakfast because they didn't eat at the food court. Some time after breakfast, we packed our bags in the car and went to the mall to do our school shopping, which we do every year.
nice pants
Back-to-school shopping continued throughout the day. We plan to arrive around 11am. I had to buy jeans, a few nice pairs of boring pants, a shirt, shoes, and a winter jacket when I got bored.
Sometimes my brother and I would split up and go look for clothes with my father. It was simple things like socks, underwear, and underwear. My father was not an expert on clothes. He never spent five minutes inspecting the rise of his jeans to see if they really fit or if they were the right length.
It's your mom who makes you put on your jeans, walks out of the changing room, stands there, gets down on her knees and tugs at your hips to see how much room there is. If you tug on the fabric to pull your jeans up, you'll embarrass yourself in front of everyone passing by. I'll never see you again, but you were always so shy. “mother!”
mall malaise
Fathers generally just want to get out of there. Or so was my father. He was afraid to go to the mall to shop for school. I think one of the things my father hated the most was walking around the mall waiting for my mother and sister to finish whatever they were doing. But it was a great day for us kids. The only thing that made going to school a little more bearable was probably shopping at the mall for school.
School stinks. After spending the summer running around outside, who wants to go back to sitting at a desk? No sane child wants to be stuck in a classroom while the sun is still high. You rest your head against the smooth painted concrete wall, looking anxiously through the closed window at the bright green grass calling to you. Please let it out!
shoe carnival
But it was fun to buy new clothes. I felt like going back to school was worth it. I felt like I had a chance to become a new me this year. If I had a cool new skate shirt from World Industries, a pair of authentic JNCO jeans (I always wore off-brand knockoffs – the leg openings weren't that wide), and a pair of skate shoes, my life would be complete. I imagined how different it would be. It was much more expensive than the one I bought last year.
The shoe carnival was a highlight. As I walked up and down the aisles, I dreamed about which shoes I would end up wearing. Something really expensive was never an option. In the end, I learned that I didn't even have to try. Finally select some options. Mother will come. I put it on and she walked me down the aisle and back again. She was studying my gait like an Olympic judge.
Of course, she did all this while Shoe Carnival employees watched. Then she grabbed my thumb and pushed on the tip of my toe to make sure I had enough room to grow for the next year. She pressed hard three or four times, manipulating the shoe with concentrated judgment.
It was very embarrassing. But why exactly? In what world can a 12-year-old child choose his own shoes without paying attention to his parents? There is no such thing as a world. But when you're 12, you want that to be your world.
natural fit
Children are excited about getting new clothes to go to school because they like new things and getting new things. But children also like their clothes. They may not openly talk about their favorite clothes. They would rather talk about the clothes they hate. They don't necessarily have the language at their disposal. Still, they have an opinion about their clothes and like when they buy new clothes.
True, they don't like us differently. They are not interested in superior quality or anything particularly advanced. They just want a cool shirt. But they are caring in their own way.
It's natural to be careful about your clothes. Children, for better or worse, are examples of us humans in our pure and natural state. But over time, we grow up and many of us start hating our clothes. Many men view clothing as a burden rather than a blessing. They don't really like thinking about it, and they don't get too excited about it. If they get excited, they won't show it.
In short, men have a problem with how they dress. They need clothing therapy. Man's natural state is not one of resentment, but one of enjoyment and interest in his clothing. Children show us that.
It's funny to reminisce about those days at the mall before the first day of school, but there's also a deeper lesson in these memories. We naturally care about our appearance. We want to cultivate a personal aesthetic. Deep down, we want to enjoy clothes.
For men who have built wall after wall to protect themselves from worrying about how they dress, it's okay to let go. It's okay to remember how excited you were about the jeans your mom bought you before going to school. Or how excited you were to wear those cool new shoes on your first day. I was secretly looking forward to showing it off. It's nothing to be ashamed of. It's natural.
