On Paper

I have a love/hate relationship with paper.  

When I walk through the stationary section of any store, but especially one with a  lovely stationary aisle , it makes me smile.  I love to look at the designs on the paper or on the notecards.  I think about the person to whom I may send a long newsy letter or a quick "thinking of you" note.  (Yes, I still send snail mail!)  

I enjoy looking at thank you notes, invitations, or even just a spiral notebook with a neat color or design on the cover or a pretty design on each page.  I like notecards that share my faith or my love of natural beauty. I have the same issue with notecards or stationary that I have with books; I like them so much I am surrounded by them and have to put up with that little bit of my own clutter.

The papers I hate?  Besides bills, which are just more clutter, I hate the paper work that comes midsummer that I have to read and fill out for the next year's school kids.  For years I had most of the kids home for school and paper work was not an issue because it was only for one or two high school kids. 

This year, however, we have four in school. And, in my opinion the paperwork is out of control.  I picked up the packet for the grade schoolers, and promptly filled out all requested information (discarding the warnings about asbestos and outside weed control, the forms for non-custodial parents and those having to do with the kids getting a free lunch.) There was a basic information form, an emergency information card, a field trip medical release card, a prepaid jeans day form, a prepaid milk order form, and PTA donation request and of course the "LIST" of what to bring the first day of school.  The page that gets to me the most, however, now that I'm paying all this tuition, is the calendar of days off! 

The next day I received the packet for one of the high schoolers and two days later the almost identical packet for the other high schooler.  The first one had senior stuff in it the sophomore did not need, but duplicates of everything else (most of which hit the circular file.) So much for going green!  

After I fill out all required forms and get the kids to sign the ones they have to sign (no plagiarism, will follow the rules for computer usage, senior privilege and parking privileges) I think I'll head over to Target and peruse the stationary aisle.  Maybe I'll find something fun and send some snail mail.