the difference between girls and boys

School supply shopping with Adeline is like getting a root canal, only more painful.  We HAD to shop at Target, that was they only store on her list.

We entered the school supply zone and my daughter turned into a creature.  She decided she needed an emerald greenish notebook because it matched her new tennis shoes. 
And the search began.  She should have been on the team to find Osama.  She searched and searched and searched for the 2 inch notebook that matched her tennis shoes.  Ridiculous. 

I  went into the Lawn and Garden section and got a chair and sat in the aisle.  Next, she had to find folders to match the notebook.  Forty minutes.  It took forty minutes.  She went through every sleeve of folders that they had.  She found them.

Erasers to match.  Pens.  Post in notes.  The works.  It had to match the notebook, that matched the shoes, that all belonged to Adeline.  It was like a song.

The boys shopped for school supplies at Wal-Mart.  They were in, out and in the car in less than 12 minutes.  They had no idea what the bought except for the mechanical pencils.

When I dropped off the button last week, he had a suitcase, a storage container and some Wal-Mart bag. I sent him with towels from home, old frying pans, he took coffee cups out of the cupboard, my sister-in-law gave him some things from her kitchen and it was a wrap.

He was unpacked and set up in fifteen minutes tops.

I watched parents, who had matching T shirts printed that said "TEAM ALLYSA" make 45 trips to the u-haul.  There were matching shower curtains, rugs, monogrammed towels, mirrors, wreaths for the door, pictures, matching bedroom ensembles, mirrors again, rugs, accent pillows, curtains and bean bags, matching dishes, glasses, cups, rugs and table cloths, a box of "holiday decorations" and curtains for the living area and and welcome mat.

Allysa also had a two sets of clothes, cold and hot.  I know this because I watched. It was marked on the wadrobe boxes.  I watched.   Closely.
And Allysa's mother rearranged the furniture in all the rooms.  I watched. Amazed.  She said that "she layed awake at night thinking about the best arrangement."

Addie came home from her first day of school.  She told me EVERY detail including every fifth grader and what class they were in.  She told me what everybody wore and what every teacher wore and who had the best bulletin board.  I am a sucker for bulletin boards.

Walker said, " lunch is fabulous.  I sat with...."  That was it.  Nothing else. 

The "button' has revealed this, "I had a chicken wrap with double fries on Tuesday, Cheese burger on Wednesday and I like it.  Yes, roommates are fine."

That is it.  Gets to college and I get a menu update.  Oh, I forgot that he had Manwich on Sunday night with ground turkey.

Tonight, after the first big week of school for all three, the eldest didn't return the a text, the middle child  could only muster "what is for dinner and when are we eating" and the daughter said, "I smell.  I need to shower."

When I asked for more details about Walker's week, he replied, "the chicken nuggets are to die for."

"What about your teachers?"

"good."

I didn't aske Addie anymore about her week, I was too busy getting dinner ready for Walker.