The simple things

Caroline

Last month, I posted about care packages and my struggle to come up with a really good one for my stepdaughter.

Well, this is her finals week . So last week I found myself aimlessly meandering the aisles of Target® (one of my favorite pastimes!). But it wasn't as fun as usual. I was fighting the holiday crowds, bouncing from the candy aisle to the goofy Christmas socks and getting nowhere fast.

Then I started to think. How do you REALLY feel during finals week? Usually, you're on the verge of getting sick, right? I made a U-turn and headed for the pharmacy. I picked up a nice package of Vitamin C drops . Tasty. Soothing. Better than candy.

Focused now, I thought, what else? Well, you feel just a little unraveled. Like you're so buried in books, you just can't take care of the little things. I grabbed a tube of her favorite lip balm , which she is forever misplacing. And then a new toothbrush. Don't you feel just a little more pulled together when you have a new toothbrush?

What else do you need at finals time? Something NOT from the pharmacy, perhaps? Nothing says "finals week" like the mushy old highlighters that have been through a semester's worth of cram sessions. I settled on a shiny new rainbow pack of "clickable" highlighters. That should ease the pain of studying a little.

OK, now I was on a roll. Stressed—everyone is stressed during finals. I nabbed a copy of "US Weekly." Nothing takes your mind off your math final like the real issues in Hollywood. And she loves the celeb gossip.

I wrote a nice "good luck" card. Her dad threw in a bit o' cash. That makes any old care package a winner, right? Anyway, it's done and done. At least until May! :-)

How did your finals week go? Did you get a care package to help you through?