The Backpack

My oldest son is starting kindergarten tomorrow.

The last two weeks have been a blur of preparing for school while savoring the last bits of summer.

Chief among my obligations has been obtaining a backpack for Ian to carry to school.

I didn’t want to send him with his preschool backpack. It’s a bit worn out, and — being totally honest here — I want the other kids to think he’s cool and mature.

While browsing at a local bike shop, Ian found a backpack he loved. I liked that the manufacturer was known for reasonable labor practices, but the price of the bag was twice as much as I originally hoped to spend.

Next I set my heart on a small, classic-looking backpack from a well-known outdoors company. Then I happened to look at the company’s Free2Work ratings, which were rather dismal.

I looked for fair trade options, which mostly seemed to be made from quilted sari squares, and made-in-the-USA alternatives, which generally were over $100. Eek.

So I did what any normal mommy would do. I spent inordinate amounts of time on the internet, trying to find the perfect backpack. One that was cool, ethically made, within my budget, and small enough for a kindergartner.

Yes, I went a bit crazy, but here’s the deal:

I can’t control my son’s kindergarten experience. I want him to have fun and make friends. I want his teacher to be talented and kind. I want to clear his path of any obstacles so that no hearts are broken and no tears fall.

I can’t control kindergarten, but by golly, I can send him to school with a good backpack.

So I bought the cool one from the bike shop. The first one he chose.