Spoiling it all.
A spark of brilliance. (We could use a few) ©
The smoke couldn’t have even cleared. The firecracker wrappers like confetti on the ground drenched in cheers as well as fresh-faced dew.
Giddy travelers still in route. Unaware.
Maybe the Pope suspected – or had advanced warning.
Tried to intervene. Citing a quality of life thing.
“…’At one point, the pope, speaking off the cuff, encouraged parents to spend more time with children. He quipped: “Waste time with your children!” He said he liked to ask parents, “do you play with your children?'” (from here)
Bless him. He tried. We should have seen it coming. Past experiences and all.
Should have avoided that Sunday paper like a snake.
OUCH! Back to school ads!
Yep. Fresh out of some fevered brain. Nothing says “Welcome back to school” like a mop.
It’s summer. 4th of July. Sun soaked days, flip flops, relaxing far far away from offices and any sort of drudgery.
So whyyyyyyyy?
Why the rush?
We all know what’s on the horizon:
Crammed parking lots with irrational drivers. Long concrete hikes. Whining. Everyone whining.
Searching for the perfect shoes, the trendy clothes that will be far too hot to wear for a long time. Practicing negotiation skills.(What? Pay this for that?)
Finding that spiral notebook of mandated color and size. Paper cuts.
Well, they tried to stay with the American spirit :Teamwork is highly prized, right? USA! USA! USA! Buy today! Buy today!
Encouraging everyone to get into the back to school spirit. Can’t wait.
Get the jump on the season!
Remember the early shopper get the bargain chore done quickly while stock is high!
Granny would frown and say, “Wishin’ your life away, fool. Once this day is gone, it’s gone – and how well did you spend it?”
Need to be cautious about wasting long summer days.
This is the time to pile up memories to smile at for years to come.
Time to hang out with those you want to be around.
The time to nourish dreams and grand plans.
Time to be who you really are.
Important stuff.
At least there’s some effort to be sensitive. No one like messy messages. Political correctness is so important all any age. (And teachers know best…just ignore the odd ones in mug shots. Perhaps they should use the term “educators” instead? There’s a difference. Big one.)
Hadn’t planned to post, but you know how sharing the pain is supposed to lessen it?
(Or is that an excuse to be downright annoying?)
Don’t buy it! Hang on to summer with every fiber of your being. It slips away far too quickly.
Need to snap to that.
Phil, the Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge.
Don’t kill it off now! Let summer blaze on! Be steadfast and brave. ©
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18 Comments
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Philosopher Mouse of the Hedge 
We’re on the same team, here. I just posted about summer, too. What is with the desire always to be somewhere else, past or future? Why, just yesterday I enjoyed solving two summer problems. I managed to kill the housefly that’s been buzzing me for a week, and figured out that, if I put out peanuts in the shell for the bluejays, the pigeons give up and leave them alone.
Now, is that ejucashunal, or whut?
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Hit publish then hopped over to see what you were up to – and got such a giggle. Some of us are not so quick to shove seasons/days aside.
But you always say it much more elegantly.
(Luckily the pigeons haven’t found us. A nice bluejay family is around. Great idea about the peanuts)
Thanks for shimmering along
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maybe it’s a mop what removes bad grades? (mom wants one lol)
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Now that’s a thought. Thanks for freshening up the comment corner
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Wow, summer feels like it just started for us. Can’t imagine getting school supplies yet. But my boys start up mid-August so we don’t have too many weeks left. But at least for the month of July, there will be no talk of school readiness!
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If you want any hot weather clothing, grab it quickly. Just doesn’t seem right. Each year the school hype starts earlier…at this rate, someday some store will be like race cars going much faster than all the others and actually lap the seasonal calendar? Enjoy the summer! Thanks for ducking in to chat
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Ha! Scary marketing Phil. I used to work for a discount retailer and they followed an advertizing scheme called “event marketing”. Their major focus was always the next holiday. As soon as one is over (July 4th) they hit the market the next day with ads for the next event. The logic is that once people’s wallets are open as soon as they see the next event advertized, they’ll buy ahead. And it actually works. This is one of the longest stretches of the year between events (July 4th to school start) so the advertizing seems ridiculously early. Halloween night, our trucks would be rolling with Christmas products for delivery Nov.01.Major events. like Back to school, Christmas and Easter (highest clothing sales of the year in the week preceeding Easter) typically get numerous flyers. The first on the tail of the last event.
So you are right, it is early and there is a method to their madness..
Oh, and the earlier you buy for the next event, the higher the chance you’ll use the products (like wipes or crayons) and have to restock before they are actually needed. Cool, eh? Ha!
Happy belated 4th Phil and enjoy your summer!
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Spent some time in marketing, too. An adventure.
Seems like a couple of years ago after a particularly bad Christmas, stores got stuck with a bunch of stuff – and again during bad economy continuing, stores here started rushing to be the first not only to have seasonal merchandise, but to get it on sale and sold before the other stores did the same…which started an accelerated rushing of seasons. Those bargain hunters and early shoppers who are willing to buy and hold until later encouraged the trend far too much. Last year one store had Christmas decorations on sale in the summer – hardly anything let by Halloween.
Hey, nothing left to buy? Fine, didn’t want to spend the money anyway – everyone to the beach! (We do that beach thing here a lot around Christmas/New Years anyway.) Thanks for shelving a great comment! (and get out there and enjoy the summer!)
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I blogged about the lack of available summer clothes a week or two ago. Just so wrong. I am not affected by back to school sales since I am not going back to school. However, around here Halloween and Christmas stuff hit the stores about the same time. Boogers. Let’s enjoy this season first.
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I remember that summer clothing MIA post. Managed to pick up some real bargains on line last week….just before all the long sleeved stuff started sowing up. (A bit worried about replacement footwear now – worried these won’t make it long enough). Not even any “everything closed holidays” to slow the rabid running now. Stepping off the track (you don’t tell on me and I won’t on you) Voting for Seasonally Appropriateness. Thanks for slowing down to comment
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I’m going to pretend I didn’t see this. I’m just getting cranked up for summer. Hate those who “rush the season.” Thanksgiving before Halloween. Christmas too. I once lost a glove right after Christmas. Too bad. Nobody stocks winter gloves after Christmas. Summer shirts? I should have bought some in March. Everything’s picked over and sold out now. Remainders on sale to make way for fall and back-to-school fashions. It’s 98 degrees out! I need summer shirts! … grumble, grumble, grumble …
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I thought the retail insanity might be slower to appear up there with the tourism. It’s hot. Keep the sweaters packed away until needed….(Snort.Maybe we need a law? Not that anyone would follow it. giggles)
Grab some summer stuff online – big sales for summer stuff…hiding among the long sleeves…
Thanks for poking a comment down this trail
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Ah, we’re all on a mindfulness quest. Present moment. Be here now. It’s July 6. There’s still a lot of summer left. Just glad the fireworks are done. The three black cats aren’t fans.
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Rushing may seem to get things done faster, but….may not be really efficient and there’s a health cost. Carnegie Mellon research indicates a bit of mindfulness meditation could help just about anyone.
http://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2014/july/july2_mindfulnessmeditation.html
More from the UK Daily Mail.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2681138/Stressed-work-Meditating-really-does-work-youll-difference-three-days-say-researchers.html
Maybe if they say it enough.
The clouds and rain kept the fireworks down this year. Enough to celebrate – not enough to annoy.
Thanks for popping over
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Hi!! Whoa…no time to waste…have to sell the school stuff to clear the warehouses for Easter candy.
Everyone needs to waste time now and then. It’s not really “wasting,” anyway. It’s repurposing.
::waves::
🙂
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Repurposing – Yes! Repurposing time to integrate new information and concepts in order to utilize them as situations arise…otherwise known as staring at clouds. Best study technique ever. Thanks for getting that comment on the shelves
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My kids start school in July ( a couple weeks) so school supply ads don’t seem out of place to me 🙂 Seems early to go back to school, but they get more (and longer breaks) during the school year than I did!
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There used to be some schools on a tri-mester/all year round calendar here. Not sure if they kept it. Breaks are refreshing, but some working parents hated it as the kids were home and arrangements had to be made. It got mixed reviews from teachers. Notice Kmart has some odd back to school TV ads….odd scripts…guess it’s supposed to be funny…but not sure if the writer really had experience with the population groups they must be trying to appeal to. Marketing comes up with some weird stuff these days. Good luck finding all the right colored folders! Thanks for stocking a comment on these shelves
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