BOUQUETS OF NEWLY SHARPENED PENCILS...

August. There is something about the month of August... it's a transitional month with summer beginning to wrap up.. and school gearing up to start. It's still summer and can be rather hot on some days -- but bits of fall start to sneak in with some cooler nights and the occasionally foggy morning.

August is the month we traditionally buy back to school supplies and new clothes. Choosing the school supplies was always my favorite part, especially when K was younger. I loved taking all the stuff from the bags and stacking it neatly on the counter and the best part of all -- sharpening the pencils! There are a handful of scents that are very appealing to me and newly sharpened pencils is quite high at the top of that list. One of my favorite movie quotes is from You've Got Mail when Tom Hanks says "Don't you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address."

This year, for me, August is the month where K will leave home and head off to college. This is the month that I have been dreading, as well as looking forward to, since she was born. Over the years, we have always discussed college and careers. I used to tell K I would be her college roommate when that time came. She loved the idea of being roomies with Mom -- until she was about 8. Then she caught on.

K has made many career changes in her 18 1/2 years of life. She started out strong and announced she was going to become a doctor when she was about 3. She also seriously considered firefighter, lawn mower, football quarterback, K-mart cashier, farmer and race car driver. Around 7 years old, she decided she was going to become a veterinarian. This career stayed in her plans for many years but eventually dropped off the list and architect, chef and pharmacist moved to the top. Author or writer has always lingered at the top as well.

Pharmacy is the path she has chosen. She applied to two colleges, Drake and South Dakota State University, and was accepted at both. Although Drake is a fantastic college and being accepted into pharmacy is kind of a big deal (tons of competition and once you're in -- you're in for all six years), she has loved SDSU from the moment we stepped foot onto the campus at her first college visit over two years ago. The PharmD program is a 2+4, meaning she will do 2 years of pre-pharmacy and then has to apply to the professional program for the last 4 years.

So in 23 days, we will be loading up her car and the pick-up truck and making the 3-hour drive to Brookings, SD to move her into the dorm. Yes, I am very excited for her and yes, I will be crying all the way home!

I can't be her roommate and even though I joke and tell her I'll be there every single weekend and we can hang out together, I won't be doing that either.

What I will be doing is the ever-popular Care Packages -- and yep, I have already started picking up things to send! Care Packages are almost as exciting as the Party Favors of birthdays past -- and the kind of stuff I love to shop for! I can't just stick stuff into a plain ol' box, so I've been finding cute boxes and bags -- and little goodies galore. I can't wait to send my first Care Package!

I think a very appropriate item for the first care package would be a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils.

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