Oh, the thrill of a fresh new pack of pencils, a fancy new lunch kit, a full package of lined paper.
There's something intoxicating about new school supplies, isn't there? (If your answer is: "no, there's something intoxicating about a nice bottle of red wine," you're right - but bear with me.)
School supplies are symbolic of a fresh start - pencils that haven't made any mistakes yet, crayons that may yet produce amazing works of art, backpacks that might trek off to after-school adventures with new friends.
I think I've always been partial to the concept of the fresh start offered by the start of a new school year - even to this day, I tend to buy agendas that run for a school year, September to August, rather than a calendar year from January to December.
Come September, the weather is changing from the bright, sunny days of August to the cool freshness of autumn, and the holiday season is right around the corner with Thanksgiving, Halloween and Christmas just beyond.
This coming September, there will be a fresh start of a momentous kind in my family: our oldest will be heading off to kindergarten.
For a new-school-supply junkie like myself, who also really, really enjoyed elementary school, it's a heady time.
Our "baby" is heading off into a great new adventure that marks the start of a brand new phase of life.
And, oh, he's so excited.
When we got the chance recently to go to the school for a "welcome to kindergarten" event, our little guy was on pins and needles all week waiting for the big day.
All the way to the school, his face was aglow with an ear-to-ear grin.
As we walked up to the door, he was skipping ahead of me, eager to get inside.
His eyes were big, and as he took in the books, the little caterpillars in an aquarium, the art on the walls, they just got bigger and bigger.
For a kid who's pretty shy by nature, the wonder of school was bringing him out of his shell faster than I had expected.
He was so excited, he could barely contain it.
Until the second kid showed up. And the third. And the fourth. By the time there were 10 kids in the room, he was edging away from the toys and books, staring resolutely at the floor and able to do little more than shake his head yes or no in answer to my questions.
The time soon came for the kids to stay in one room and the parents to head over to a second room. His eyes implored me to stay with him while I explained what was going to happen.
"Daddy and I are going to go talk to your new teachers - and you get to stay here and do some fun stuff with these teachers and the other kids. We'll be back soon, and we're right next door."
As we left the room, I glanced back at him as he stood, frozen, in the middle of the room, fingers twining, a small fake smile plastered on his face.
I wanted to turn around, scoop him up and leave. But transitions - those fresh starts I enjoy so much - are not always easy. In fact, the most important transitions in life are often the hardest.
When we returned 45 minutes later, he came bounding at us with that huge grin back on his face: "Mama, Mama, I'm ready for kindergarten now - I'm not nervous at all!" He showed us where things were, told us about the other kids and what he'd learned. He'd grown up a little bit in that hour - and we're all a bit more ready for September's fresh start. I can't wait.
Christina Myers is a reporter with the Burnaby NOW newspaper.
