Sometimes it's just not worth it

Just sometimes though :)

Today there is a big county-wide back to school fair. Families who are under certain income limits can get a new backpack for their child with some general school supplies, a new pair of shoes & socks, and a haircut. We qualified, so I thought we would go. It was from 8am-2pm, so I figured we would maybe be gone a couple of hours. We got there at about 8:45, and it was sheer insanity. There was a line that was thousands of people long, and it didn't seem to be moving at all. I'm looking at that line thinking that not only will my kids never make it through without having to get out of line to go potty, but I was standing there really thinking there was no way that I was going to make it through that line without having to go potty!

So we decided to leave. It just didn't seem worth it to me. Ethan's school supply list really isn't that extensive, and I already have money in the envelope for school supplies. If we wanted to, we could buy the whole package from the school for $20, which I think is a bit overpriced for what you're buying. He got new shoes last week, and he still has his backpack from last year.

I'm glad that they have programs like that for families who struggle to make ends meet. But as I was looking at the sheer numbers of people who showed up for what amounts to about $25 worth of stuff, I realized that we would be fine without that help, and obviously there are a lot of people who need that help more than we do.