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Get more Nothing Much Happens with bonus episodes, extra long stories,
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and ad-free listening, all while supporting the show you love.
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Subscribe now. Welcome to Bedtime Stories for Everyone, in which...
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Nothing much happens. You feel good, and then you fall asleep.
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I'm Catherine Nicolai. I write and read all the stories
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you hear on Nothing Much Happens. Audio engineering is by
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Bob Wittersheim. We are bringing you an encore episode tonight,
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meaning that this story originally aired on At some point
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in the past, it could have been recorded with different
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equipment in a different location. And since I'm a person
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and not a computer, I sometimes sound just slightly different.
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But the stories are always soothing and family-friendly. And our
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wishes for you are always deep rest and sweet dreams.
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I have a story to tell you. It is a
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place to rest your mind. All you need to do
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is listen. As always, I'll tell it twice, and I'll
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go a little slower the second time through. Our story
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tonight is called School Supplies, and it is a story
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about a way to mark the end of warm weather
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and the beginning of crisp days. It's also about planners
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and paper goods, tiny scissors, and which color folder for math,
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and treating yourself to something new just because it makes
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you smile. One of my favorite things about the end
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of the summer is that shift when the evenings start
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feeling cooler and suddenly you want your home to feel
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a little cozier again. And for me, the bedroom is
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the first place I notice it. I've been using Quince Bedding,
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and I really love the quality. Their 100% European linen
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is soft, breathable, and gets even better the more you
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wash it. It has that easy, relaxed look that makes
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a bed feel inviting without looking overly fussed with. And
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they also make organic cotton sheets if you like something
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a little cooler and crisper. and lightweight quilts and coverlets
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that are perfect for adding an extra layer as the
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seasons start to change. And because Quince works directly with
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Ethical Factories and cuts out the middlemen, their products are
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priced 50 to 80 percent less than similar brands. I
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use Quince myself. I am wearing Quince lounge clothes as
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I record this for you. And if you've been wanting
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to make your bed a little more comfortable, I really
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do recommend it. Upgrade your everyday. Download the Quince app
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for app-exclusive offers or go to quince.com slash nothingmuch. Get
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free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available
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in Canada and the UK too. That's q-u-i-n-c-e dot com
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slash nothingmuch. Now, turn off your light. Slide down into
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your sheets and get as comfortable... As you can. You
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have done enough for the day. Nothing remains but rest.
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Take a deep breath in through your nose. Let it
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out your mouth. Nice. One more. Breathe in. And out. Good.
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School supplies. When I saw displays starting to appear in
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the stores a month or so ago, I had a
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moment of bittersweet emotion. It meant, of course, The end
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of the summer. And I loved the summer. The slow,
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lazy days. The break from rigid schedules. The sunshine and
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the flower-filled window boxes. But there comes a point, after
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months of that, that I begin to crave a little
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more structure to my days. I begin to want to
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put on a sweater, to feel a gray sky comfortingly
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low over my head, and to see those flowers replaced
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with a row of pumpkins and gourds. Maybe that is
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part of the siren song of school supplies. They call
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me back just when I need it to a feeling
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of order and organization. The promise of freshly sharpened pencils
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and a new stack of notebooks to make my sometimes
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messy thoughts make sense. When I was still in school,
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choosing which book bag, which markers and pencil case, were
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very big decisions. They were ways to try on ideas
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of who I might be. Was I the kind of
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person who had plain colored folders? Or did I pick
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one with pop stars on the front? Was I the
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sort who kept my book bag pristine? Or would it
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be covered with buttons and drawings inked onto the fabric?
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All these years later, I still found myself trying on
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different styles and ways of being and expressing, understanding finally
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that I didn't have to settle on one version of myself.
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For a while, after I'd graduated, I'd stopped strolling through
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the aisles of school supplies, feeling like my time with
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them had passed. But at some point I realized, even
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though I wasn't going back to any formal classes in
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the fall, I still liked learning. Drawing and writing. Filing
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things away in folders. And getting a fresh pack of markers. Besides,
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those supplies made me happy. And I didn't have to
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explain why to anybody. So I started taking myself school
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shopping again. Sometimes I shopped at my local corner store
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or in the aisle of the grocery, which was always
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stocked up for weeks before kids went back. But today
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I was visiting what was, in my opinion, the best
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spot in town for such things. The stationery shop on
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Main Street. They sold paper goods of all kinds, and
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I'd gone to them to have some dinner party invitations
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made a while back. They'd even done matching place cards
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for the table and supplied me with cocktail napkins with
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a fancy gold stripe that I'd loved. They, of course,
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stocked stationery and envelopes, pens and pencils, but they also
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had craft kits and sheets of stunning wrapping paper draped
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over the rungs of an old ladder braced against the wall.
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There were journals and notepads, planners and book plates and
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thank you notes, birthday cards. They had plenty of supplies
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for my desk, but also had cut paper Halloween decorations,
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and I knew I would be leaving with some of
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those as well as my other purchases. I took a
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small handle basket, from a stack by the door and
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began to browse. On a table were stacks of journals
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and planners. I always bought myself a new planner in January,
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but these were tempting. I thumbed through one, with beautiful
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pastel illustrations. It came with a small metal ruler for
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making my own grids and lines on the blank paper
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at the back of the book. Another one had a
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dozen different color ribbons. Their shiny satin was so smooth
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They begged to be touched. I slipped one into the
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end of September, tugged it till it was taut, and
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snapped the book shut to admire how the tail of
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it looked trailing from the bottom of the pages. I'd
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picked the green ribbon for September, and it reminded me
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of the strong feelings I'd had in middle school about
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what color folder or notebook should be used for each subject.
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Green was September, but it was also science. Yellow could
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be for April, and for English. Red, obviously, was math.
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And I flipped through the journal, looking for the most
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red month, finally settling into the page marking the beginning
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of May. I chuckled, thinking about the sometimes fascinating and
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sometimes silly connections brains make. On a shelf, I found
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some pretty desk accessories. I got a little fan brush
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for cleaning between the keys on my keyboard, and a
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wick trimmer to keep my candles burning cleanly. There was
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a small bowl of scissors, so oddly pretty that I
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immediately set my basket down to take a closer look.
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I had a pair of scissors and the cup on
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my desk already, but they were utilitarian for cutting out
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pictures in magazines. or labels to attach to packages. These
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scissors were small, reaching just across the palm of my hand,
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and a beautiful gold color. They were fashioned to look
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like a crane. His legs were the handles, reaching down
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to the finger loops. and the closed blades were his beak,
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the pivot screw one flat shining eye. I guessed that
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they were meant for embroidery work, the perfect size for
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snipping through a thread, but I thought they would look
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lovely in a dish on my dresser and would work
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just as well cut a tag from a new sweater. Oh,
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I loved them. I love a pretty object that seems
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slightly too beautiful for the amount of work it will
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do in its life. When the balance between aesthetic and
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function was just slightly askew. Into the basket they went.
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I picked out a book of drawings of birds that
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came with a small watercolor palette and brush, a box
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of paper clips in a shape I'd never seen before,
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and a thick pink eraser to use on the Sunday crossword.
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Before I took my treasures up to the checkout, I
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went through the spooky section and found a long, gangly
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skeleton made from stiff card paper and fasteners. He would
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look thrilling, hanging in the tall window on the second floor.
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I could attach him to a hook in the ceiling
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and backlight him with a reading lamp. From the sidewalk,
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he would be quite the specter. The summer might be ending,
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but with my basket full of grown-up school supplies and
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bits and bobs to decorate for Halloween, I was ready
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to let her go and welcome the autumn. School supplies.
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When I saw displays starting to appear in the stores
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a month or so ago, I had a moment of
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00:18:11.180 --> 00:18:20.349
bittersweet emotion. It meant, of course, the end of the summer.
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And I loved the summer. The slow, lazy days. The
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00:18:30.859 --> 00:18:40.730
break from rigid schedules. The sunshine. And the flower-filled window boxes.
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But there comes a point after months of that that
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I began to crave a little more structure to my days.
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I want to put on a sweater to feel a
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gray sky comfortingly low over my head and to see
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those flowers replaced with a row of pumpkins and gourds.
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Maybe that is part of the siren song of school supplies.
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They call me back just when I need it to
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a feeling of order and organization. The problem is... of
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00:19:52.359 --> 00:19:57.759
a freshly sharpened pencil and a new stack of notebooks
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to make my sometimes messy thoughts make sense. When I
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00:20:10.839 --> 00:20:21.500
was still in school, choosing which book bag, which markers
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00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:32.470
and pencil case, were very big decisions. They were ways
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00:20:32.710 --> 00:20:41.009
to try on ideas of who I might be. Was
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I the kind of person who had plain colored folders?
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Or did I pick ones with pop stars on the front?
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Was I the sort who kept my book bag pristine?
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Or would it be covered with buttons and drawings? inked
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00:21:11.910 --> 00:21:21.299
onto the fabric. All these years later, I still found
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00:21:21.380 --> 00:21:35.430
myself trying on different styles and ways of being and expressing, understanding, finally,
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00:21:37.089 --> 00:21:42.109
that I didn't have to settle on one version of myself.
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00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:54.079
For a while, after I'd graduated, I'd stopped strolling through
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00:21:54.140 --> 00:22:02.099
the aisles of school supplies, feeling like my time with
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00:22:02.160 --> 00:22:11.630
them had passed. But at some point I realized Even
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00:22:11.670 --> 00:22:17.190
though I wasn't going back to any formal classes in
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00:22:17.210 --> 00:22:28.200
the fall, I still liked learning and organizing, drawing and writing,
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00:22:31.680 --> 00:22:37.500
filing things away in folders, and getting a fresh pack
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00:22:37.559 --> 00:22:51.230
of markers. Besides, those supplies made me happy. And I
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00:22:51.289 --> 00:23:00.049
didn't have to explain why to anybody. So I started
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taking myself school shopping again. Sometimes I shopped at my
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local corner store or in the aisle of the grocery,
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which was always stocked for weeks before the kids went back.
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But today, I was visiting what was, in my opinion,
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the best spot in town for such things. stationary shop
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on Main Street. They sold paper goods of all kinds,
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00:24:00.609 --> 00:24:05.190
and I'd gone to them to have some dinner party
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00:24:05.269 --> 00:24:15.170
invitations made a while back. They'd even done matching place
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00:24:15.250 --> 00:24:21.549
cards for the table and supplied me with cocktail napkins
200
00:24:23.970 --> 00:24:33.900
with a fancy gold stripe that I'd loved. They, of course,
201
00:24:35.799 --> 00:24:46.990
stocked stationery and envelopes. pens and pencils, but they also
202
00:24:47.099 --> 00:24:56.680
had craft kits and sheets of stunning wrapping paper draped
203
00:24:56.900 --> 00:25:02.279
over the rungs of an old ladder braced against the wall.
204
00:25:05.480 --> 00:25:14.930
There were journals and notepads and planners. book plates and
205
00:25:14.970 --> 00:25:23.430
thank you notes and birthday cards. They had plenty of
206
00:25:23.509 --> 00:25:31.730
supplies for my desk, but also cut paper Halloween decorations.
207
00:25:34.730 --> 00:25:37.740
And I knew I would be leaving with some of
208
00:25:37.819 --> 00:25:46.170
those as well as my other purchases. I took a
209
00:25:46.269 --> 00:25:53.779
small handle basket from the stack by the door and
210
00:25:53.839 --> 00:26:03.220
began to browse. On the table were stacks of journals
211
00:26:04.200 --> 00:26:12.930
and planners. I always bought myself a new planner in January.
212
00:26:15.380 --> 00:26:23.160
but these were tempting. I thumbed through one with beautiful
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00:26:23.319 --> 00:26:32.049
pastel illustrations. It came with a small metal ruler for
214
00:26:32.130 --> 00:26:37.910
making my own grids and lines on the blank pages
215
00:26:38.210 --> 00:26:45.140
at the back of the book. Another one had a
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00:26:45.319 --> 00:26:53.019
dozen different color ribbons. Their shiny satin was so smooth.
217
00:26:55.519 --> 00:27:01.269
They begged to be touched. I slipped one into the
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00:27:01.410 --> 00:27:10.619
end of September, tugged it till it was taut, and
219
00:27:10.700 --> 00:27:16.569
snapped the book shut. to admire how the tail of
220
00:27:16.670 --> 00:27:25.349
it looked, trailing from the bottom of the pages. I'd
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00:27:25.410 --> 00:27:31.450
picked the dark green ribbon for September, and it reminded
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00:27:31.509 --> 00:27:37.240
me of the strong feelings I'd had in middle school
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00:27:38.759 --> 00:27:45.049
about what color folder or notebook should be used for
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00:27:45.130 --> 00:27:56.619
each subject. Green was September, but it was also science.
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00:28:01.019 --> 00:28:12.230
Yellow could be for April and for English. Red, obviously,
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00:28:13.130 --> 00:28:21.599
was math. and I flipped through the journal, looking for
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00:28:21.619 --> 00:28:31.430
the most red month, finally settling into the page marking
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00:28:31.529 --> 00:28:39.990
the beginning of May. I chuckled, thinking about the sometimes
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00:28:40.130 --> 00:28:51.549
fascinating and sometimes silly connections brains make. On a shelf,
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00:28:52.670 --> 00:28:59.559
I found some pretty desk accessories. I got a little
231
00:28:59.650 --> 00:29:05.500
fan brush for cleaning between the keys on my keyboard,
232
00:29:09.740 --> 00:29:14.480
and a wick trimmer to keep my candles burning cleanly.
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00:29:18.660 --> 00:29:24.450
There was a small bowl of scissors, so oddly pretty,
234
00:29:26.910 --> 00:29:31.109
that I immediately set my basket down to take a
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00:29:31.150 --> 00:29:40.099
closer look. I had a pair of scissors stuck in
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00:29:40.140 --> 00:29:47.400
the cup on my desk already, but they were utilitarian
237
00:29:49.759 --> 00:29:57.779
for cutting out pictures in magazines or labels to attach
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to packages. These scissors were small, reaching just across the
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palm of my hand. And they were a beautiful gold color.
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00:30:19.269 --> 00:30:27.009
They were fashioned to look like a crane. His legs
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00:30:27.859 --> 00:30:35.490
were the handles. reaching down to the finger loops. And
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00:30:35.509 --> 00:30:44.609
the closed blades were his beak. The pivots grew, one flat,
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00:30:44.730 --> 00:30:52.859
shining eye. I guessed that they were meant for embroidery work,
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00:30:56.200 --> 00:31:03.079
the perfect size for snipping through a thread, but I
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00:31:03.160 --> 00:31:07.049
thought they would look lovely in a dish on my
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00:31:07.109 --> 00:31:13.650
dresser and would work just as well to cut a
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tag from a new sweater. Oh, I loved them. I
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00:31:22.039 --> 00:31:30.849
love a pretty object that seems slightly too beautiful for
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the amount of work it will do in its life.
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00:31:37.589 --> 00:31:44.000
When the balance between aesthetic and function was just a
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00:31:44.059 --> 00:31:54.319
bit askew. Into the basket they went. I picked out
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00:31:54.359 --> 00:31:59.640
a book of drawings of birds that came with a
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00:31:59.720 --> 00:32:06.990
small watercolor palette and brush, a box of paper clips
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00:32:07.910 --> 00:32:13.390
in a shape I'd never seen before, and a thick
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00:32:14.150 --> 00:32:22.720
pink eraser to use on the Sunday crossword. Before I
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00:32:22.799 --> 00:32:29.400
took my treasures up to the checkout, I went through
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00:32:29.500 --> 00:32:37.960
the spooky section and found a long, gangly skeleton made
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00:32:38.079 --> 00:32:47.500
from stiff card paper and fasteners. He would look thrilling
259
00:32:48.859 --> 00:32:56.170
hanging in the tall window on the second floor. I
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00:32:56.230 --> 00:33:01.200
could attach him to a hook in the ceiling and
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00:33:01.259 --> 00:33:07.339
backlight him with a reading lamp. From the sidewalk, he
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00:33:07.420 --> 00:33:16.190
would be quite the specter. The summer may be ending,
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00:33:18.250 --> 00:33:25.930
but with my basket full of grown-up school supplies, and
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00:33:25.990 --> 00:33:33.359
bits and bobs to decorate for Halloween. I was ready
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00:33:34.259 --> 00:33:43.750
to let her go and to welcome the autumn. Sweet dreams.
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00:00:01.129 --> 00:00:05.809
Get more Nothing Much Happens with bonus episodes, extra long stories,
2
00:00:06.009 --> 00:00:09.189
and ad-free listening, all while supporting the show you love.
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Subscribe now. Welcome to Bedtime Stories for Everyone, in which...
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00:00:30.620 --> 00:00:37.219
Nothing much happens. You feel good, and then you fall asleep.
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00:00:38.780 --> 00:00:44.009
I'm Catherine Nicolai. I write and read all the stories
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00:00:44.060 --> 00:00:49.390
you hear on Nothing Much Happens. Audio engineering is by
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00:00:49.490 --> 00:00:55.829
Bob Wittersheim. We are bringing you an encore episode tonight,
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00:00:56.630 --> 00:01:00.890
meaning that this story originally aired on At some point
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00:01:01.070 --> 00:01:04.849
in the past, it could have been recorded with different
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00:01:04.909 --> 00:01:09.230
equipment in a different location. And since I'm a person
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00:01:09.989 --> 00:01:16.069
and not a computer, I sometimes sound just slightly different.
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But the stories are always soothing and family-friendly. And our
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wishes for you are always deep rest and sweet dreams.
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I have a story to tell you. It is a
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place to rest your mind. All you need to do
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is listen. As always, I'll tell it twice, and I'll
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go a little slower the second time through. Our story
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tonight is called School Supplies, and it is a story
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about a way to mark the end of warm weather
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and the beginning of crisp days. It's also about planners
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00:02:05.159 --> 00:02:11.659
and paper goods, tiny scissors, and which color folder for math,
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and treating yourself to something new just because it makes
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you smile. One of my favorite things about the end
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of the summer is that shift when the evenings start
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feeling cooler and suddenly you want your home to feel
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a little cozier again. And for me, the bedroom is
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the first place I notice it. I've been using Quince Bedding,
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and I really love the quality. Their 100% European linen
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00:02:43.110 --> 00:02:46.439
is soft, breathable, and gets even better the more you
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00:02:46.479 --> 00:02:50.219
wash it. It has that easy, relaxed look that makes
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a bed feel inviting without looking overly fussed with. And
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they also make organic cotton sheets if you like something
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a little cooler and crisper. and lightweight quilts and coverlets
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00:03:01.629 --> 00:03:04.409
that are perfect for adding an extra layer as the
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seasons start to change. And because Quince works directly with
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Ethical Factories and cuts out the middlemen, their products are
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priced 50 to 80 percent less than similar brands. I
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use Quince myself. I am wearing Quince lounge clothes as
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I record this for you. And if you've been wanting
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to make your bed a little more comfortable, I really
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00:03:25.139 --> 00:03:29.710
do recommend it. Upgrade your everyday. Download the Quince app
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00:03:29.770 --> 00:03:34.810
for app-exclusive offers or go to quince.com slash nothingmuch. Get
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00:03:34.870 --> 00:03:39.669
free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available
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00:03:39.710 --> 00:03:44.129
in Canada and the UK too. That's q-u-i-n-c-e dot com
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00:03:44.330 --> 00:03:54.180
slash nothingmuch. Now, turn off your light. Slide down into
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your sheets and get as comfortable... As you can. You
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00:04:01.629 --> 00:04:09.509
have done enough for the day. Nothing remains but rest.
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00:04:11.889 --> 00:04:18.220
Take a deep breath in through your nose. Let it
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out your mouth. Nice. One more. Breathe in. And out. Good.
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School supplies. When I saw displays starting to appear in
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00:04:45.750 --> 00:04:50.829
the stores a month or so ago, I had a
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00:04:50.889 --> 00:04:59.209
moment of bittersweet emotion. It meant, of course, The end
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00:04:59.269 --> 00:05:07.120
of the summer. And I loved the summer. The slow,
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00:05:07.259 --> 00:05:16.829
lazy days. The break from rigid schedules. The sunshine and
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00:05:18.209 --> 00:05:26.420
the flower-filled window boxes. But there comes a point, after
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00:05:26.579 --> 00:05:31.560
months of that, that I begin to crave a little
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00:05:31.639 --> 00:05:37.459
more structure to my days. I begin to want to
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00:05:37.519 --> 00:05:44.870
put on a sweater, to feel a gray sky comfortingly
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low over my head, and to see those flowers replaced
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00:05:54.129 --> 00:06:01.060
with a row of pumpkins and gourds. Maybe that is
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00:06:01.199 --> 00:06:09.199
part of the siren song of school supplies. They call
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00:06:09.240 --> 00:06:14.519
me back just when I need it to a feeling
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of order and organization. The promise of freshly sharpened pencils
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00:06:26.310 --> 00:06:30.899
and a new stack of notebooks to make my sometimes
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00:06:31.120 --> 00:06:37.920
messy thoughts make sense. When I was still in school,
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00:06:39.500 --> 00:06:46.939
choosing which book bag, which markers and pencil case, were
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very big decisions. They were ways to try on ideas
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of who I might be. Was I the kind of
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00:07:01.449 --> 00:07:09.689
person who had plain colored folders? Or did I pick
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00:07:09.870 --> 00:07:15.569
one with pop stars on the front? Was I the
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sort who kept my book bag pristine? Or would it
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00:07:21.029 --> 00:07:26.800
be covered with buttons and drawings inked onto the fabric?
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All these years later, I still found myself trying on
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00:07:37.230 --> 00:07:46.160
different styles and ways of being and expressing, understanding finally
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00:07:47.160 --> 00:07:51.600
that I didn't have to settle on one version of myself.
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For a while, after I'd graduated, I'd stopped strolling through
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00:08:02.129 --> 00:08:10.060
the aisles of school supplies, feeling like my time with
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00:08:10.120 --> 00:08:18.360
them had passed. But at some point I realized, even
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though I wasn't going back to any formal classes in
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00:08:24.089 --> 00:08:37.850
the fall, I still liked learning. Drawing and writing. Filing
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things away in folders. And getting a fresh pack of markers. Besides,
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those supplies made me happy. And I didn't have to
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00:08:55.789 --> 00:09:04.480
explain why to anybody. So I started taking myself school
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shopping again. Sometimes I shopped at my local corner store
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or in the aisle of the grocery, which was always
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stocked up for weeks before kids went back. But today
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00:09:26.820 --> 00:09:33.840
I was visiting what was, in my opinion, the best
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spot in town for such things. The stationery shop on
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00:09:41.519 --> 00:09:49.950
Main Street. They sold paper goods of all kinds, and
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00:09:50.009 --> 00:09:54.429
I'd gone to them to have some dinner party invitations
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00:09:54.519 --> 00:10:02.360
made a while back. They'd even done matching place cards
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00:10:02.759 --> 00:10:09.259
for the table and supplied me with cocktail napkins with
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00:10:09.299 --> 00:10:16.750
a fancy gold stripe that I'd loved. They, of course,
94
00:10:18.620 --> 00:10:28.120
stocked stationery and envelopes, pens and pencils, but they also
95
00:10:28.179 --> 00:10:35.860
had craft kits and sheets of stunning wrapping paper draped
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00:10:35.960 --> 00:10:39.909
over the rungs of an old ladder braced against the wall.
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00:10:43.450 --> 00:10:49.779
There were journals and notepads, planners and book plates and
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00:10:49.820 --> 00:10:56.940
thank you notes, birthday cards. They had plenty of supplies
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00:10:57.059 --> 00:11:04.029
for my desk, but also had cut paper Halloween decorations,
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00:11:05.750 --> 00:11:08.769
and I knew I would be leaving with some of
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00:11:08.830 --> 00:11:15.340
those as well as my other purchases. I took a
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00:11:15.440 --> 00:11:20.820
small handle basket, from a stack by the door and
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00:11:20.879 --> 00:11:28.600
began to browse. On a table were stacks of journals
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00:11:29.600 --> 00:11:37.629
and planners. I always bought myself a new planner in January,
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00:11:39.049 --> 00:11:46.289
but these were tempting. I thumbed through one, with beautiful
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00:11:46.490 --> 00:11:55.309
pastel illustrations. It came with a small metal ruler for
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00:11:55.370 --> 00:11:59.610
making my own grids and lines on the blank paper
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00:12:01.009 --> 00:12:06.500
at the back of the book. Another one had a
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00:12:06.700 --> 00:12:14.240
dozen different color ribbons. Their shiny satin was so smooth
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They begged to be touched. I slipped one into the
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end of September, tugged it till it was taut, and
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00:12:27.429 --> 00:12:33.179
snapped the book shut to admire how the tail of
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00:12:33.259 --> 00:12:39.639
it looked trailing from the bottom of the pages. I'd
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picked the green ribbon for September, and it reminded me
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of the strong feelings I'd had in middle school about
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what color folder or notebook should be used for each subject.
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Green was September, but it was also science. Yellow could
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00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:21.779
be for April, and for English. Red, obviously, was math.
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00:13:24.019 --> 00:13:28.480
And I flipped through the journal, looking for the most
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00:13:29.240 --> 00:13:36.909
red month, finally settling into the page marking the beginning
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00:13:36.970 --> 00:13:45.480
of May. I chuckled, thinking about the sometimes fascinating and
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00:13:45.549 --> 00:13:54.100
sometimes silly connections brains make. On a shelf, I found
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00:13:54.179 --> 00:14:00.120
some pretty desk accessories. I got a little fan brush
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00:14:02.200 --> 00:14:07.179
for cleaning between the keys on my keyboard, and a
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00:14:07.200 --> 00:14:14.950
wick trimmer to keep my candles burning cleanly. There was
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00:14:15.009 --> 00:14:21.799
a small bowl of scissors, so oddly pretty that I
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00:14:21.860 --> 00:14:26.840
immediately set my basket down to take a closer look.
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00:14:30.100 --> 00:14:33.059
I had a pair of scissors and the cup on
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00:14:33.100 --> 00:14:42.309
my desk already, but they were utilitarian for cutting out
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00:14:42.429 --> 00:14:51.059
pictures in magazines. or labels to attach to packages. These
131
00:14:51.159 --> 00:14:57.860
scissors were small, reaching just across the palm of my hand,
132
00:14:59.299 --> 00:15:05.360
and a beautiful gold color. They were fashioned to look
133
00:15:05.460 --> 00:15:12.090
like a crane. His legs were the handles, reaching down
134
00:15:12.210 --> 00:15:17.299
to the finger loops. and the closed blades were his beak,
135
00:15:18.720 --> 00:15:26.330
the pivot screw one flat shining eye. I guessed that
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00:15:26.409 --> 00:15:31.929
they were meant for embroidery work, the perfect size for
137
00:15:31.970 --> 00:15:37.399
snipping through a thread, but I thought they would look
138
00:15:37.460 --> 00:15:43.320
lovely in a dish on my dresser and would work
139
00:15:43.539 --> 00:15:49.440
just as well cut a tag from a new sweater. Oh,
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00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:56.649
I loved them. I love a pretty object that seems
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00:15:56.870 --> 00:16:01.649
slightly too beautiful for the amount of work it will
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00:16:01.710 --> 00:16:08.210
do in its life. When the balance between aesthetic and
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00:16:08.330 --> 00:16:16.330
function was just slightly askew. Into the basket they went.
144
00:16:19.549 --> 00:16:24.490
I picked out a book of drawings of birds that
145
00:16:24.549 --> 00:16:31.100
came with a small watercolor palette and brush, a box
146
00:16:31.139 --> 00:16:34.679
of paper clips in a shape I'd never seen before,
147
00:16:37.700 --> 00:16:42.350
and a thick pink eraser to use on the Sunday crossword.
148
00:16:46.610 --> 00:16:51.909
Before I took my treasures up to the checkout, I
149
00:16:51.950 --> 00:16:56.529
went through the spooky section and found a long, gangly
150
00:16:56.590 --> 00:17:05.819
skeleton made from stiff card paper and fasteners. He would
151
00:17:05.859 --> 00:17:11.460
look thrilling, hanging in the tall window on the second floor.
152
00:17:14.880 --> 00:17:17.680
I could attach him to a hook in the ceiling
153
00:17:17.700 --> 00:17:24.630
and backlight him with a reading lamp. From the sidewalk,
154
00:17:25.750 --> 00:17:32.630
he would be quite the specter. The summer might be ending,
155
00:17:34.930 --> 00:17:39.549
but with my basket full of grown-up school supplies and
156
00:17:39.589 --> 00:17:45.269
bits and bobs to decorate for Halloween, I was ready
157
00:17:46.029 --> 00:17:54.099
to let her go and welcome the autumn. School supplies.
158
00:17:58.380 --> 00:18:03.559
When I saw displays starting to appear in the stores
159
00:18:04.900 --> 00:18:11.099
a month or so ago, I had a moment of
160
00:18:11.180 --> 00:18:20.349
bittersweet emotion. It meant, of course, the end of the summer.
161
00:18:21.970 --> 00:18:30.819
And I loved the summer. The slow, lazy days. The
162
00:18:30.859 --> 00:18:40.730
break from rigid schedules. The sunshine. And the flower-filled window boxes.
163
00:18:45.069 --> 00:18:50.569
But there comes a point after months of that that
164
00:18:50.650 --> 00:18:56.480
I began to crave a little more structure to my days.
165
00:18:59.940 --> 00:19:04.039
I want to put on a sweater to feel a
166
00:19:04.160 --> 00:19:12.869
gray sky comfortingly low over my head and to see
167
00:19:12.950 --> 00:19:18.200
those flowers replaced with a row of pumpkins and gourds.
168
00:19:22.519 --> 00:19:30.400
Maybe that is part of the siren song of school supplies.
169
00:19:33.910 --> 00:19:41.170
They call me back just when I need it to
170
00:19:41.250 --> 00:19:52.299
a feeling of order and organization. The problem is... of
171
00:19:52.359 --> 00:19:57.759
a freshly sharpened pencil and a new stack of notebooks
172
00:20:00.279 --> 00:20:10.779
to make my sometimes messy thoughts make sense. When I
173
00:20:10.839 --> 00:20:21.500
was still in school, choosing which book bag, which markers
174
00:20:22.400 --> 00:20:32.470
and pencil case, were very big decisions. They were ways
175
00:20:32.710 --> 00:20:41.009
to try on ideas of who I might be. Was
176
00:20:41.210 --> 00:20:47.750
I the kind of person who had plain colored folders?
177
00:20:50.970 --> 00:20:54.190
Or did I pick ones with pop stars on the front?
178
00:20:58.490 --> 00:21:03.130
Was I the sort who kept my book bag pristine?
179
00:21:05.549 --> 00:21:11.769
Or would it be covered with buttons and drawings? inked
180
00:21:11.910 --> 00:21:21.299
onto the fabric. All these years later, I still found
181
00:21:21.380 --> 00:21:35.430
myself trying on different styles and ways of being and expressing, understanding, finally,
182
00:21:37.089 --> 00:21:42.109
that I didn't have to settle on one version of myself.
183
00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:54.079
For a while, after I'd graduated, I'd stopped strolling through
184
00:21:54.140 --> 00:22:02.099
the aisles of school supplies, feeling like my time with
185
00:22:02.160 --> 00:22:11.630
them had passed. But at some point I realized Even
186
00:22:11.670 --> 00:22:17.190
though I wasn't going back to any formal classes in
187
00:22:17.210 --> 00:22:28.200
the fall, I still liked learning and organizing, drawing and writing,
188
00:22:31.680 --> 00:22:37.500
filing things away in folders, and getting a fresh pack
189
00:22:37.559 --> 00:22:51.230
of markers. Besides, those supplies made me happy. And I
190
00:22:51.289 --> 00:23:00.049
didn't have to explain why to anybody. So I started
191
00:23:00.230 --> 00:23:10.660
taking myself school shopping again. Sometimes I shopped at my
192
00:23:10.740 --> 00:23:17.210
local corner store or in the aisle of the grocery,
193
00:23:20.009 --> 00:23:26.430
which was always stocked for weeks before the kids went back.
194
00:23:29.710 --> 00:23:36.880
But today, I was visiting what was, in my opinion,
195
00:23:39.019 --> 00:23:48.259
the best spot in town for such things. stationary shop
196
00:23:49.539 --> 00:23:58.630
on Main Street. They sold paper goods of all kinds,
197
00:24:00.609 --> 00:24:05.190
and I'd gone to them to have some dinner party
198
00:24:05.269 --> 00:24:15.170
invitations made a while back. They'd even done matching place
199
00:24:15.250 --> 00:24:21.549
cards for the table and supplied me with cocktail napkins
200
00:24:23.970 --> 00:24:33.900
with a fancy gold stripe that I'd loved. They, of course,
201
00:24:35.799 --> 00:24:46.990
stocked stationery and envelopes. pens and pencils, but they also
202
00:24:47.099 --> 00:24:56.680
had craft kits and sheets of stunning wrapping paper draped
203
00:24:56.900 --> 00:25:02.279
over the rungs of an old ladder braced against the wall.
204
00:25:05.480 --> 00:25:14.930
There were journals and notepads and planners. book plates and
205
00:25:14.970 --> 00:25:23.430
thank you notes and birthday cards. They had plenty of
206
00:25:23.509 --> 00:25:31.730
supplies for my desk, but also cut paper Halloween decorations.
207
00:25:34.730 --> 00:25:37.740
And I knew I would be leaving with some of
208
00:25:37.819 --> 00:25:46.170
those as well as my other purchases. I took a
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small handle basket from the stack by the door and
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began to browse. On the table were stacks of journals
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and planners. I always bought myself a new planner in January.
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but these were tempting. I thumbed through one with beautiful
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pastel illustrations. It came with a small metal ruler for
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making my own grids and lines on the blank pages
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at the back of the book. Another one had a
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dozen different color ribbons. Their shiny satin was so smooth.
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They begged to be touched. I slipped one into the
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end of September, tugged it till it was taut, and
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snapped the book shut. to admire how the tail of
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it looked, trailing from the bottom of the pages. I'd
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picked the dark green ribbon for September, and it reminded
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me of the strong feelings I'd had in middle school
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about what color folder or notebook should be used for
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each subject. Green was September, but it was also science.
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Yellow could be for April and for English. Red, obviously,
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was math. and I flipped through the journal, looking for
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the most red month, finally settling into the page marking
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the beginning of May. I chuckled, thinking about the sometimes
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fascinating and sometimes silly connections brains make. On a shelf,
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I found some pretty desk accessories. I got a little
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fan brush for cleaning between the keys on my keyboard,
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and a wick trimmer to keep my candles burning cleanly.
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There was a small bowl of scissors, so oddly pretty,
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that I immediately set my basket down to take a
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closer look. I had a pair of scissors stuck in
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the cup on my desk already, but they were utilitarian
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for cutting out pictures in magazines or labels to attach
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to packages. These scissors were small, reaching just across the
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palm of my hand. And they were a beautiful gold color.
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They were fashioned to look like a crane. His legs
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were the handles. reaching down to the finger loops. And
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the closed blades were his beak. The pivots grew, one flat,
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shining eye. I guessed that they were meant for embroidery work,
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the perfect size for snipping through a thread, but I
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thought they would look lovely in a dish on my
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dresser and would work just as well to cut a
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tag from a new sweater. Oh, I loved them. I
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love a pretty object that seems slightly too beautiful for
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the amount of work it will do in its life.
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When the balance between aesthetic and function was just a
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bit askew. Into the basket they went. I picked out
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a book of drawings of birds that came with a
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small watercolor palette and brush, a box of paper clips
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in a shape I'd never seen before, and a thick
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pink eraser to use on the Sunday crossword. Before I
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took my treasures up to the checkout, I went through
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the spooky section and found a long, gangly skeleton made
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from stiff card paper and fasteners. He would look thrilling
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hanging in the tall window on the second floor. I
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could attach him to a hook in the ceiling and
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backlight him with a reading lamp. From the sidewalk, he
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would be quite the specter. The summer may be ending,
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but with my basket full of grown-up school supplies, and
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bits and bobs to decorate for Halloween. I was ready
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to let her go and to welcome the autumn. Sweet dreams.
