Whoever is in charge of determining sales seasons & other patterns at your typical department store has to sit with me sometime & have a chat. Especially this time of year, these patterns can upset me for certain reasons.
It's the age-old story: parents dread when school lets out for the summer. I've only seen it from one angle: as the student. Therefore, I always enjoyed my summers filled with nothing constructive. These were filled with fun times as I bonded with friends, got to know my parents more, and went on family vacations. I savored every moment of those times, especially as school drew near.
But what happened this year? A mere three weeks after the local schools let out, radio stations were already blasting "back to school" ads. That's right; some stores get into the back-to-school routine about the same time they're going through their graduation sales. Some of the joy of relaxation is muted almost from the time you leave that school building, as they want you to think of books & teachers three months before its time.
We're getting into the warm weather now, and the marquee at the mall is already describing an end-of-season clearance sale. The calendar says summer still has two months to run. Fall fashions debuting already? What if my summer outfit rots suddenly and I have to shop for replacements? I would look dumb in a fall coat this time of year.
Years ago, I would keep an annual log stating when the first Christmas commercial would air on TV. Once it was on September 18th. I remember the date vividly, because it wasn't every day I would run out of the house screaming "WHY?" Sure enough, Marshall Fields had their displays up & running just after I actually went back to school.
Why do we have to think three months ahead?
Perhaps I need to see life from that other angle: as a parent, before I can figure out what Madison Avenue is preaching. We are always taught to look ahead far enough in advance so we can prepare ourselves in any situation. But I still take issue about these campaigns cutting into the symbolic presence summer brings. This means we have to start thinking about snow scrapers, shovels, winter storm warnings and slush, when we should be thinking about where the neighborhood pool party is.
Kids, they say, grow up too fast because they're not given time to actually be kids. Thinking light-years ahead makes them play grown-up roles before they can handle it. People forget about the "here and now" in life; enjoying the moments as they happen.
I'm enjoying the summer of warm weather, which we don't get enough of in Michigan. I don't need an overpaid CEO of a department store telling me to think ahead.
It's not my brain they possess, after all.
