Were only they open 24 hours a day....

Ahhh! September. It's a fresh beginning to yet another school year. A time to start over with renewed hopes of a successful year in the ongoing acedemic journey of children. A time to indulge oneself in the fantasy of remaining organized and finding endless enjoyment in learning all throughout the year.

This is also the time of year that librarians and library technicians alike enjoy almost as much as Christmas! A time to embark upon a journey of ultimate importance.... Shopping for school supplies for their tiny wards ! After all, what self respecting library geek doesn't feel the magnetic pull of the nearest "Staples" or "Grand and Toy" calling them in. They don't even have to buy anything to achieve that euphoric high. Like a drug addict getting a fix, the bibliomaniac can obtain their pleasure from the smell alone of the stationery supplies. The fresh crisp sound of plastic wrap so tightly wound around a perfectly stacked block of "400 sheets" lined loose leaf paper. Pre-sharpened coloured pencils in a perfectly undented box with sharp square corners. Sticky notes, exsensive as they are, even bring pleasure, in their blocks of varying colours and sizes. Oooh! I get shivers just imagining it!

Luckily for me I have kids. I have a reason to actually buy these coveted items. Well, actually, it's not so much that I have a reason, as I have an excuse. I know I've taken to buying items that my 6 year old could not possibly be requiring in grade one. After all what 6 year old is allowed to use pens or white out in class, not to mention a package of business card sheets for our printer. And lets not mention the solar calculator that she just had to have to figure out her ever difficult grade 1 addition and subtraction questions.

My only regret is that these palaces of joy aren't open 24 hours a day. Grocery stores are in many a city, why aren't stationary shops? I guess we can't have everything in life. It's not a perfect world after all. Maybe someone could work on a fragrance for the home that smells like these heavenly places. It could be called, "Ode to September, new beginnings."